Tangled Webs
by JordanGirl
Summary: Chapter 16 is up! It's funny what a near-death experience can do to you... The morning after...
1. Cousins and Internships

**Tangled Webs**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show cannon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

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"Jordan?  You busy?"  Garret Macy popped his head into Jordan's office.

"Nah.  Just finishing up some paperwork.  Don't give me that look," she said as Garret choked back a chuckle.  "I do finish it. . .eventually."

"I know."  Garret moved into the doorframe.

"What's up?"

"There's a body down by the harbor.  They need someone down there right away.  I know you're not scheduled for field trips this week, but since we're a little backed up. . ."

"No problem.  Anything to get out of paperwork!"  Jordan winked at Garret who rolled his eyes in reply.  "I'm on my way."

"Thanks, Jordan."

Jordan got up and gathered what she'd need, then drove to the pier number she'd been given.  As she was walking towards the mass of police, she spotted a dark head talking with one of the uniforms.  Eddie.  She was almost relieved to see him.  She knew Woody was out of town on some kind of family emergency or something, but still. . .  She wasn't ready to deal with him yet.  Things had been weird between them since that night with Malden and the methylhexital.  It was better that she not have to work with him while her head ~ and heart ~ were still trying to figure things out.  It was awkward enough trying to deal with Max after all that had come out.  Woody just added pressure to an already stressed-out situation.

Eddie looked up and saw Jordan ducking under the police tape.  He began to move towards her, then turned to the young woman Jordan hadn't noticed standing beside him and motioned her to come along.  This could be interesting.  Jordan hadn't heard anything about a new detective coming on the force.  The baseball cap the girl wore prevented Jordan from telling much about her, at least until she got closer.  Eddie began to make the introductions.

"Jordan Cavanaugh, I'd like you to meet our forensic criminology intern, Kaidlyn Reilly."

"Kaidlyn?"  Jordan's voice registered disbelief as she reached out and tipped the bill of the cap up so she was looking in the girl's face.

"Hey Jordan!  Great to see you!"  A bright smile lit up the girl's face and her blue-green eyes twinkled.

"What the hell. . .?"  Jordan was floored.  Kaidlyn was in Boston briefly the semester before while she was on a layover coming back from a tour in the Peace Corps in Kenya.  But she'd heard nothing about her coming back to Boston.

"You two know each other, I take it?"

"We're cousins," they said in unison.

"Great," Eddie said aloud.  To himself, he thought that explained a lot.  He shook his head as he remembered how Kaidlyn had bounced into his office after she was officially introduced at the morning check-in, all set and ready to go to work.  He knew there was something familiar about the fire he detected just below the surface in her eyes, the sarcasm she could cut in her voice.  The bounce in her movement wasn't as evident in her cousin now, but he remembered a time when he first started working with Max and Jordan would come into the precinct. . .  Back before things turned bad.  The name hadn't given him a clue.

"Yeah, I'm Max's niece.  He's my mom's big brother.  Even though 'things' kept us away from here way too much!"

So that explained the different last name.  But yeah ~ her eyes were definitely Cavanaugh.  He knew they looked familiar.  And he could already tell the mouth was definitely Cavanaugh too.

"So Kaid, what the hell. . .?"

"Oh.  Forensic criminology internship for my grad program.  Finally figured out what I wanted to do with my life."

Eddie harrumphed to himself,  "What the hell is it in the Cavanaugh genes?  Couldn't the. . ." he cut off the male chauvinist pig thought he was about to have.  He realized Kaid was still chattering.

"I was supposed to be in Chicago, but something fell through at the last minute.  But everything slid right into place for me to come to Boston!  Cool, huh?  I'm staying with Uncle Max ~ he put me in your old room, I hope that's ok."  The words rattled off her tongue with a life all their own.  

Jordan laughed and hugged her cousin.  "Of course.  I'm not there anymore."

Eddie took a deep breath knowing that if Kaidlyn turned out to be anything like her cousin it was going to be an interesting semester to say the least.  "Alright, well, you wanna know what we've got?"

"Yeah.  Spill it."  Back to business.  There would be plenty of time to socialize later.  Jordan figured that was what her dad's phone message she'd been avoiding all morning was about.

"Body's over here.  A couple of Tufts' students found it while rollerblading in the area."

"Any indication of anything?"

"None that we can find.  But that's not completely our department."  Eddie looked at Kaidlyn.  She'd been as eager as a bloodhound when they got there.  Couldn't wait to start examining the body, the scene, the whole thing.  It was all he could do to keep her from inadvertently contaminating the evidence in her enthusiasm to actually do something.  Though he had to admit, it was refreshing to be around someone so eager to bring good and closure to a bad situation.  And she seemed to know what she was doing around the body.  Maybe they could work it so she could spend some time at the morgue, perhaps working with Nigel a little.

Jordan moved towards the body and made her initial assessment.  "Male.  Probably around 28.  Based on rigor, I'd say he's probably been dead about 12 hours."  She looked at Eddie, who nodded, then signaled for the guys to come and pack the body for transport.  "You got an ID yet?"

"Nope.  Didn't find anything on him."  Eddie helped Jordan to her feet.

"Looks like he was probably out for a run.  Maybe he didn't carry anything with him.  I know I don't always take ID with me."

"Hey Jordan?"  Jordan turned at the sound of her cousin's voice.  Kaidlyn had gloved up and was kneeling at the body's side.  "Maybe he didn't carry any ID, but look at this."

"Holy crap."  Kaidlyn was holding up an epinephrine pen ~ the kind people with acute allergies to food and/or bee stings carry with them.  Jordan looked at the body again.  His lips and fingers were swollen.  How the hell had her cousin seen that when she'd missed it?  "How. . .?"

"My roommate freshman year was allergic to shellfish only she didn't know it until we went to Red Lobster one night.  I remember what her lips looked like when we got her to the ER.  His look the same."

"Oh."  Jordan suspected there was something Kaidlyn wasn't saying, but she decided to let it rest.  She had to admit, though, the girl obviously had talent when it came to forensics.  Even Jordan hadn't noticed the swelling on the lips and fingers.  She would have eventually, but there on scene?

The guys packed up the body and moved it to the van.

"I'm gonna head back to the morgue and get started on him.  You gonna work on any missing persons reports?" Jordan looked at Eddie questioningly.

"Yeah.  I'll stop by in a few hours."  He looked from Kaidlyn to Jordan.  "Do you think she could maybe. . ."

"Sure.  Come on kiddo.  I think you earned yourself the right to watch an autopsy."  Jordan put her arm around her cousin and walked her towards the SUV.  She was eager for a chance to talk with her cousin, and the drive back would provide the perfect opportunity.  They had a lot to catch up on.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	2. Reunion

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 2**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show cannon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

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In the car on the way back to the morgue, Jordan and Kaidlyn talked about life, school, the family, all kinds of things.  At one point, Kaidlyn looked at Jordan and asked a question that almost made her crash the car.

"Jordan?  Are there things that Uncle Max kept hidden from you while you were growing up?"

"What do you mean, hidden?"  Surely her cousin didn't know about James!

"Just. . .family secrets or something.  Never mind.  I'm probably just being weird.  Seriously.  Never mind."  And Kaidlyn turned and looked out the window, avoiding any new questions from Jordan by asking about various buildings and so forth.

When they got to the morgue, Jordan and Kaidlyn got off the elevator and started towards the locker room for Jordan to change into scrubs and find some for Kaidlyn.  Garret turned from the front desk and stopped them.

"Everything ok, Jordan?  Who's. . .wait a minute.  I know you from somewhere."

"Garret, this is my cousin, Kaidlyn.  I think you met her before briefly.  She's doing an internship with the police and Eddie agreed to let her come and watch the autopsy."

"Oh.  Ok.  It's nice to meet you again."  He shook Kaidlyn's hand, then looked at Jordan.  "So what's up with the body?"

"I'm not sure.  It looks like an allergic reaction to something."

"Pretty straightforward."

"Well, yeah.  Except for something Kaidlyn found."

"What's that?"

Kaidlyn reached into her bag and produced the item the cops had missed in their search for identification.  "An epi pen.  So whatever it was that brought on the attack, it was fast."

"Your internship is in what?"  Garret blinked at this girl.  To look at her. . .but he knew that wasn't fair.  Just because she was bubbly and looked young as hell didn't mean she wasn't intelligent.

"Forensic criminology."

"Wow!  Impressive."

"It's not too bad.  Course after a few years in Kenya it's weird being in the big city again.  Kenya was amazing."

"Garret, do you know if we have any extra scrubs?  I was gonna let her watch the autopsy."

"Yeah, I think we do.  Go check in the closet at the end of the hall closest to the locker rooms."

"Thanks."  Jordan took off and promptly ran into Nigel, who had come into the hallway upon hearing a semi-familiar voice.  "Nige, sorry.  I. . .  What the. . .?"

"Kaidlyn?  What are you doing here?"

"Hey Nige!"  Kaidlyn ran and threw her arms around him.

"Oh yeah.  I forgot you two met before," Jordan muttered to herself as she went towards the closet.

"What the. . .I thought you were going to Chicago for an internship."  Nigel and Kaidlyn had been in touch by e-mail and a few phone calls ever since meeting when she was on a layover in Boston on her way back from Kenya.

"I was.  I guess my last email didn't go through."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"Last minute change of plans.  Something fell through in Chicago, but one of my profs had connections here and got me into the PD in Boston."

"Well, that's very cool.  It's so good to see you.  Maybe we can. . ."

"Slow down cowboy.  She's staying with Dad.  You think a rottweiller's protective?  You ain't seen nothing yet."  Jordan tossed a pair of scrubs at Kaidlyn.  "Here kiddo.  They might be a little big, but they'll do.  Come on, the locker room's this way."

Jordan guided her cousin to the locker room where they changed into scrubs for the autopsy.  She considered lecturing Kaid on the dangers of fraternizing with Nigel, but decided to let it slide for a while.  After all, for all she knew they talked about computers and science and stuff.  When they were both ready, Jordan led the way into Autopsy One. 

"Now, when I open him up. . ."

"Jordan?  It's ok.  I'm not like gonna get sick or pass out or anything."

"Oh.  Ok."  Jordan did the preliminary examination before opening him up.  She had to admit, Kaid did remarkably well.  You'd almost have thought she was pre-med or had taken an anatomy class.  Hell, maybe she had.  Nothing unusual seemed to be indicated in his death.  She found the puncture wound from an insect sting, but that was it.  Kaid was so quiet, Jordan almost thought she was alone.  She jumped as Garret came into the room, followed by Eddie Winslow.

"Find anything unusual?"

"Nope.  Looks like he got stung here," she pointed to the place on the back of his neck, "and things went from there.  I can't find evidence that it was anything more than a massive allergic response to an insect sting.  We're running a tox screen just to be on the safe side, but unless that turns anything up, I think we're looking at a tragic accidental death."

"That's good," Eddie said.  "We made the identification.  John Mitchell, sophomore at BC.  His parents are on their way up from Raleigh, NC.  It won't take their loss away, but at least we can tell them it wasn't anything crime-related."

"Alright.  Everything under control?"

"Yeah Garret.  I've got it."  

"Good.  I've got a meeting with. . .  Never mind.  I've got a lunch meeting.  I'll try to be back around 2.  Until then, you're in charge, Jordan."  Garret left before Jordan could make any comments.  Her look had been enough.  As the door shut, he heard her laughing, and decided to ignore her.

"Alright, kiddo.  It looks like I'm stuck here ordering in.  Want me to get you something, or. . ."

"I could take her to get some lunch," Eddie volunteered, just as Nigel was coming in the room.

"Lunch time already is it?  Kaidlyn, luv, you're still hungry after watching an autopsy?"

"Oh yeah.  That kind of stuff doesn't bother me.  Well, not much anyway."  Kaidlyn moved towards the door to go and change into street clothes.  Meet you at the elevator bay, Eddie?"

"Sure."  Eddie turned back towards Jordan, who had been joined by Nigel, who was standing there with his mouth open.  "What?"

"You're taking her out to lunch?"  Nigel felt his heart sinking.

"She's my intern, Townsend.  That's it."

"Oh.  Ok.  So I can still. . ."

"Watch what you say there buddy.  That's my cousin you're talking about."  Jordan's elbow caught Nigel square in the ribs.

"Yes, I know.  But Jordan, she is of age to make her own decisions."

"I know, I know.  I just. . .  We'll talk about it later.  You're gonna run the tox screen now?"

"Yeah.  I'll bring the results to your office."

"Thanks."  Jordan and Eddie walked out into the hallway, where Kaidlyn was waiting.  "Have fun."

"Want me to bring you something, Jordan?"

"Sure ~ whatever is fine."

"Ok."  She gave Jordan a hug.  "Oh!  I almost forgot.  Has Uncle Max called you?"

"Um, I got a message from him this morning, but I haven't had a chance to return the call yet.  Why?"

"He wants you to come to dinner tonight.  His house for dinner.  Then we're going to the Pogue."

"Alright.  I can be there.  What time?"

"Ummmm. . .I think he said around 6:30?  You'd better call just to make sure."

"Will do.  See you later.  Bye Eddie."  After the doors shut, Jordan turned to see Nigel standing behind them.  "What?"

"I have to say, luv.  Looks definitely run in your family."

"So does a sharp tongue and impeccable accuracy in kicks, Nigel."  Jordan watched him, amused.  "Seriously, Nige.  She is a great girl.  I just don't want to see anyone get hurt.  Just take it slow."

"Alright, luv.  I will."

Jordan walked down the hall, thinking about the events of the morning, and specifically the ride she and Kaidlyn had on their way back to the morgue.  Those questions Kaid started asking were really eating away at Jordan's mind.  Was it possible that there are even more skeletons in the Cavanaugh family closet?  Maybe they'd get into that tonight.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	3. Lunch

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 3**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

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Eddie and Kaidlyn went to a simple Mexican restaurant to talk over her first day so far and plans for the rest of the internship.

"I hope this place is ok with you."  He hadn't thought to ask, he just knew he was hungry and this was one of his favorites.

"Sure.  I love Mexican."

"Good. I was really hungry and, well. . ."

"The tortilla chips and salsa that automatically come with the meal?  Yeah.  I know.  It's great."

The server took their order and brought the chips and their drinks, then they got down to business. Well, sort of.

"So, you're Jordan's cousin."

"Yeah. I don't really know her that well, though.  Mom and I always lived away."

"Just you and your mom?"

"Yeah, well. . .  She was married for a while, but. . .  I don't see him anymore."

"Oh.  Ok."  Eddie sensed that there was something else lurking below the surface, but decided to wait and let her talk when she was ready.  After all, he'd just met her this morning.  "So, Jordan said something about Kenya?"

"Yeah. Peace Corps."

"Wow!  That sounds amazing."

"Yeah. It was."

"And you met Nigel before?"

"Yeah.  When I had a killer lay over at Logan, I called Jordan and she came and got me and the three of us went to Uncle Max's bar for lunch.  We've chatted online since.  But. . .  I'm not up here for romance.  I'm up here to learn."

"I wasn't asking, but thanks for the heads-up."  Eddie remembered all too well how protective Max had been about Jordan with the guys on the force.  He could only imagine that Max would be as protective of his niece.

"No problem.  So. . .  Can I ask you something?"

"Sure.  What do you want to know?"

"Jordan seemed a bit cool towards you ~ not much, but a little.  And she seemed a bit nervous that I'm working with you."

"You noticed that, huh?"

"Yeah.  What's up with that?"

"Max was my first partner when I made detective."

"Oh. Ok. . .  But. . .?"

"You don't know what happened with Max?"

"My mom said that he took early retirement.  Or something like that."

"Yeah.  Something like that.  Kaidlyn, I don't mean to put you off, but maybe you should talk with your uncle about that."

"Huh?  Oh. . .  Ok. . ."  Kaidlyn's mind was whirling, but the server arrived with their food, and she let it drop for the time being.  There would be plenty of time to talk with Max later.

The rest of their lunch conversation centered around plans for the internship and things Kaidlyn was thinking about doing after graduation.  She'd had some interviews, but not having any real experience made things a little hard.  She was hoping that something would come out of this internship, even if it wasn't Boston.  Though she had to admit, after her entire life with it being pretty much her mother and her, she was loving being around family and would have jumped at the chance to stay in Boston.

After lunch, they went back to the precinct so that Kaid could finish filling out the paperwork.  Jordan called to say that the tox screen came back negative, John Mitchell was the victim of a massive allergic reaction to a bee sting.  Jordan also reported that she had talked with Max and not only was she coming over for dinner, but he had ok'd Nigel coming as well.  Paperwork done, Eddie drove Kaidlyn back to Max's house and dropped her off.  When Kaidlyn got to the door, Max opened it to greet her.

"Was that Eddie Winslow?"

"Yeah.  He's my supervisor."

"Oh."

"What?  What's the matter with him?  Jordan's chilly around him and seemed a bit bothered by me working with him.  And now you. . .?"

"I just want you to be careful.  Eddie can be a great guy, but. . ."

"But what?  He's my supervisor.  That's it!"

"That's good.  But. . ."

"But what?  You and Jordan don't seem too sure about me working with him.  Why is that?  I think I deserve some answers.  After all, I've got to work with him for the next three months."

Max looked at Kaidlyn and sighed, "You're right Kaid, you do deserve some answers.  Why don't you come out to the kitchen and help me with dinner. We'll talk there."

"Ok. . ."  More puzzled than she was even two minutes before, Kaidlyn followed him out to the kitchen and sat at the table as Max worked at fixing dinner and started to talk with her about what had happened when he was on the force.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	4. Confession Part 1

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 4**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

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"So what exactly did Eddie tell you?"  Max looked up from the carrots he was slicing, not quite sure he wanted to know the answer.

"Not much.  Just that you'd been partners when he first started as a detective.  Before you retired," Kaid shrugged.

"That's it?"

"Yeah.  Why?  Is there more?"

"Yeah, sweetheart.  And I guess I'd better tell you before you ask your cousin and she gives you her spin on it."  Setting down the knife, Max walked over and sat down across from his niece at the table.

"Wow.  Looks serious."  Kaidlyn was only trying to cover her nerves.  She hadn't meant to open a can of worms.  Max took a deep breath and started.

"It is, sweetie.  Do you remember much about when your aunt was killed?"

"Um. . .not really."  Kaid's forehead wrinkled as she struggled to think of something, anything to help make it easier.  "I remember we came up for the service, and I remember hanging out with Jordan a little.  But that's about it."

"Well, you were only about 5 when it happened.  Anyway, she was killed here in the house, the living room to be exact.  I came in early for lunch and found her, just lying there, blood everywhere.  I called the station and they sent people out right away.  One of the uniforms went to St. Cecilia's to pick Jordan up and bring her home.  By the time the cops got to the house, they had to take me in for questioning because her blood was all over me.  I remember Jordan running in, and all I wanted to do was go to her and hold her, but they wouldn't let me.  Finally they decided that there wasn't enough evidence to hold me and let me go back to get Jordan ~ she'd been staying at her friend's house.  It was. . .a really bad time for all of us."

"Yeah."  Kaidlyn remembered trying to play with Jordan, who only sat and looked out the window.

"They never found anyone.  There was only one print that didn't belong to anyone who should have been in the house.  And it. . ."  Max paused, trying to decide if he should tell her everything.  He was on dangerous ground not telling her, since she could go and ask Jordan.  But. . .  "It turned out to be a phantom print.  One that didn't belong to anyone."

"Oh wow.  But every print belongs to someone."

"Not this one."  Damn, the girl was good.  Maybe keeping things from her wasn't the best idea.

"So have they ever solved Aunt Emily's murder?"

"No.  And it about. . .no, it did destroy my career."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  When I went back to work, I was sort of in a kind of 'double jeopardy.'  I asked immediately for a new team.  The partners I'd worked with, well, one of them disappeared.  And the other, he was the one who took my baby girl to Children's Services after Emily was killed.  He wouldn't even let me sign the paperwork to let her stay with her friend for a couple of days."

"That's horrible!"

"Yeah.  Malden could be a jerk if he wanted to be."

"Malden?  The former chief who was killed last spring?"

"Yeah."  Max flinched, hoping that Kaidlyn wouldn't catch it.  Those memories were way too fresh.

"Oh.  Wait, you said 'double jeopardy.'  What else was going on?"

"On the job, things weren't great.  I wanted so badly to solve everything, sometimes I. . .well, I went over the line more than once.  Granted, we caught the bad guys, but putting them in the hospital wasn't the way to go."

"You did that?"

"I didn't mean to.  But we'd been after a serial rapist.  We finally caught the guy and he resisted.  So I used force.  Probably a little too much ~ the guy was in the hospital for a week."  Max flinched at the memory.  Why a rapist set him off that much, he would never tell, and no one on the force at that time could guess.  It's not like Emily had been raped. . .

"Oh."  Kaidlyn's small voice brought him back to reality.  Max looked over at the girl, who looked like she wished she'd never brought the subject up in the first place.

"It's ok, Kaid.  I. . .you deserve to know why there's some tension between Eddie and Jordan."

"Ok."

"After that, IA did an investigation.  Eddie was my partner at the time, brand new as a detective, and he helped them in it.  My retirement wasn't exactly my choice.  Jordan. . .well, she always thought he was brought in specifically to be a rat."

"You don't think so?"

"I did for a while.  But not now.  Eddie had been working his way up the ranks, and I was next in line for a new partner.  And he was right turning me in.  I could have gotten him, or myself, or anyone who worked with us killed in my stubborn pig-headed ways."

"Oh.  Ok."  Kaid looked tentatively at Max, then jumped up to give him a hug.  "I still love you."

"Thanks sweetheart.  I love you too."  Max returned the hug, laughing at Kaid's spontaneous enthusiasm.  Maybe some of it would rub off on Jordan.  He hoped things would rub that way and not the other ~ Kaidlyn was too. . .innocent wasn't the word. . .  She didn't deserve to be brought down.

"You need any help with anything else?"

"You set the table, right?"

"Yeah."

"I've got the rest of it.  Why don't you go relax, sweetie.  I guess Jordan will be here soon."

"Ok."  Kaid bounced out of the room.  

Max heard her run up the stairs, and then it wasn't long until he heard her light, soprano voice and guitar floating down the stairs.  Music hadn't been in the house in a long time.  It sounded good, made it feel more like home. . .

_28 years earlier. . ._

Emily and Jordan had been sitting in front of the fire, singing a song ~ some Irish ballad ~ to keep Jordan calm during a thunderstorm.  Suddenly they were interrupted by the sound of banging on the door.

"Max?  Max, let me in!  Please!!"

Instantly, Max was up and at the door.  He knew the sound of his baby sister's voice.  He ripped the door open.

"Laura?  Baby, what is it?"  He ushered her in, shivering and soaking wet.  Emily immediately jumped up to get a towel as Jordan cowered on the couch, upset by all the commotion.

"I told him no.  I told him. . ."  Laura crumpled into the big chair that sat by the fireplace.

"What?  What are you. . .?  Did Michael hurt you?"  Max was furious.  Laura was only 16.

"We went to the Winter Formal.  But he didn't want to stay long.  He'd gotten a hotel room.  I told him no.  That I didn't want to.  But. . ."

"Mary, mother of God."  Max pulled his trembling sister into his arms.  "I'll kill him for this."

"No!  Max, please don't."  Laura was hysterical.  "I don't want you to hurt him.  I mean, if I hadn't. . ."

"Laura, he raped you.  That wasn't your fault.  He. . ."

"Please?  I just want to stay here tonight.  I can't go home.  Mom and Dad will kill me.  Please?"  Her eyes pleaded with him.

"Alright, sweetheart.  You can stay here tonight."  

They got the bed in the guest room ready and after a bath, Laura cried herself to sleep.  Max knew he should have taken her to the hospital, but no one really knew what date rape was, and no one would dream of calling sex between a couple "rape."

The next day, Laura went home and no one spoke of what had happened.  Max tried to convince Laura to dump Michael ~ she didn't need a jerk like him.  But she wouldn't.  Claimed she loved him.  And then a couple of months later. . .

_Present day. . ._

"Dad?  You here?"  Jordan's voice cut into Max's memories.

"Yeah, sweetheart.  In the kitchen.  Kaidlyn's upstairs playing guitar.  Why don't you and Nigel go up and hang out with her?"

"Ok.  But it's just me.  Nigel went home to check on his pig, and she's sick.  So they're at the emergency vet's office."

"Alright."  He heard Jordan's footsteps on the stairs followed by Kaid's excited chatter.

The child ~ young woman, at 26 she wasn't a child anymore ~ was so happy and bubbly.  Who would ever have guessed that something that beautiful could come from such horrible beginnings.  He knew Laura loved Kaidlyn more than life itself.  And he wondered if his niece knew the truth.  After thinking about it for a few seconds, he decided it wasn't his place to tell her.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	5. Unsecured Gun

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 5**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ok.  Got it.  We'll be there in a few minutes.  Thanks Johnson."  Eddie hung up the phone.  "Alright, we've got another case.  Come on," he said as he spun his chair to face the second desk they'd put in his office for Kaidlyn.  Not ideal, but the whole thing was last minute.  

She seemed not to have heard him.

"Kaidlyn!"

"What?"  She jumped at the sharp sound of Eddie's voice which broke into her thoughts.

"You with me?"

"Yeah.  What's going on?"

"We've got a case.  Body found in an old apartment building."

"Oh.  Ok."  She grabbed her stuff and jumped up to follow him.

"You ok?"  Eddie looked concerned as she passed him and he pulled the door shut.  She'd seemed a little off all morning.  Perhaps it was just adjusting to her new schedule and the work.  But he was concerned. . .

"Yeah.  I'm fine.  Let's go."

They got into his car and as Eddie pulled out of the lot, Kaidlyn stared out the passenger window, lost in thought.

_the__ night before. . ._

"Hey sweetie!  You've really gotten better at that," Jordan motioned to the guitar in her cousin's hands.

"Thanks.  Want to sit down?"  Kaid smiled up at Jordan.

"Sure."  Jordan flopped onto the floor beside her.  "How was the rest of your day?"

"Pretty ordinary.  We finished filling out all the paperwork and Eddie dropped me off here," Kaidlyn shrugged.

"How'd you end up with him?"  Jordan tried to keep her feelings out of her voice.  After all, she was working at forgiving Eddie.

"I don't know.  I guess he was the one they felt would be best to mentor an intern or something."

"Oh.  Ok."  Jordan flipped through the notebook holding chords and lyrics Kaid had in front of her.

"Uncle Max told me about what happened."

"What happened when?"  Oh God, there were so many ways that sentence could be finished.

"What happened when he had to retire.  The stuff with that serial rapist, and then the investigation IA led, and Eddie's part in that."

"Oh."  Jordan felt her stomach tense at the memory.  She knew now that it really was the best thing for Max, but it still hurt her to think of it. 

"You ok?"  Kaid looked at her cousin.

"Yeah."  Jordan sighed, unsure of how to broach the subject she wanted to.  "Kaid?"

"Yeah?"

"When we were driving earlier and you asked me about family secrets. . ."

"Yeah?"

"What did you mean?"

"Nothing really.  I just. . ."  Kaid was interrupted by Max calling them down to dinner.

They talked about all kinds of things work and school related at dinner.  In the middle of dessert, Jordan got paged to a scene, so they never got to finish their conversation.  Kaidlyn wondered why that question threw Jordan off so much and wanted to talk with her about it in more detail if they could ever find the time.

_present__ day. . ._

"Kaidlyn!"  Eddie couldn't figure out where her mind was today.  The day before she'd seemed so together.

"What?  Oh, we're here?"

"Yes.  We're here.  Now come on."  He led the way into the building.

When they got to the crime scene, he set about doing the normal canvas of the area.  The uniforms explained the situation to him.  Tragic really, a child playing with a gun shot his younger brother and killed him.  While it seemed like an accident, there were plenty of questions to ask.  Where were the parents?  Was it really an accident?  Why the hell hadn't they kept the gun and ammunition locked away in separate places like they should have?

A few minutes later as they were leaving the apartment, Kaidlyn looked at Eddie.  "Oh, by the way.  Uncle Max told me what happened."

"Really?  All of it?"

"I guess so.  About IA and the investigation.  And his having to retire or be fired."

"And you still want to work with me?"

"What?"

"Your cousin had only recently begun to treat me civilly again.  I just figured. . ."

"Oh come on.  I am SO not like that!"

"What is it with that word?"

"What word?"

"SO ~ saying it like that.  Is that some sort of genetic Cavanaugh vocal tic?"

"I don't think so.  Why?"

"Because Jordan says it all the time."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  Come on.  We need to get back to the precinct.  Paperwork is a never ending pain in my ass."  As Eddie steered Kaidlyn down the hall, neither of them noticed that a door behind them opened and a head peeked out.

"Another one?  I had no idea. . ."  James Horton made a note to somehow contact this girl to talk with her.  He wasn't sure who she was, but if she was a Cavanaugh, he wanted to talk with her.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	6. Family Secrets

Tangled Webs 

**Chapter 6**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.

Kaidlyn and her mom, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN ~ Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in "That Night" as well as being mentioned in "Running."  The timeline basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame," but I did have to make some changed to Kaid's age to have it fall into line with the rest of the story.  Since "Endgame" is so far from show canon now, I'm not getting overly upset about it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie and Kaidlyn stepped out of the building, blinking in the bright sunshine of the crisp, Boston fall day.  They were almost to the car when they heard someone running towards them from the building.

"Wait!  I can tell you some information about what happened!"

They turned and saw a dark-haired, scruffy-faced man.  He stopped directly in front of Kaidlyn and looked into her eyes.  Something about him made her really uneasy, but she was frozen in place and speechless.  Eddie's instincts were going nuts too, but he didn't want to make any sudden moves.  He was not about to endanger Kaid's life for anything in the world.  Finally he found his voice.

"What did you say?"

"I said I could tell you more information."

"So spill it."

"Not here.  Back in my apartment."

"Fine.  Let's go then."

James got between Kaidlyn and Eddie and started to move Kaidlyn towards the building.  Eddie clamped his hand onto James' shoulder.

"Uh uh.  She doesn't go anywhere alone.  If you're talking to her, you're talking to me."  Eddie glared at this stranger.  Besides, she was only an intern, though he wasn't about to tell this man that.

After a stare-down, James finally relented.  He didn't want to hurt the girl, but he didn't want anyone else there.  He'd only wanted to talk with her.  Then again, he thought he remembered seeing the man with Max, so maybe it wouldn't be so bad. . .

"Fine.  Come on."  James led them into his apartment.

Kaid felt only slightly better at Eddie's presence in the room.  As they entered, she looked around, her eyes burning details into her memory.  She turned and spotted a bulletin board on the wall next to the door.  What the hell. . .?  She moved closer until. . .

"Why do you have a picture of my cousin?"  She whirled on James, anger and fear flashing in her eyes.

"Your cou-. . .?"  Eddie moved over and looked in disbelief at the picture of Jordan.  He made a mental note that like it or not, she was going to get some extra eyes on her for the foreseeable future.

James hadn't said anything yet, and Kaidlyn ran towards him.  "Tell me!  Why do you have a picture of my cousin?"

"It's ok.  I'm not some pervert who wants to hurt her."  James tried to keep his voice calm.  He hadn't expected the fire of the girl's reaction.

"But. . ."  Kaidlyn was completely confused.

"Why don't we sit down?  Look. You can sit here in this chair ~ clear path to the door.  You want to leave, you can leave.  No one's being held here."  He looked at Eddie, whose only sign of movement was a hand hovering at ready in case a gun was warranted.  Kaidlyn tentatively sat down, eyes wide, not knowing what to expect.

James swallowed, then began.  "My name is James Horton.  You cousin, Jordan Cavanaugh, is my half-sister."

"Your WHAT?????"  Eddie spoke the words that Kaidlyn was unable to utter.

"Her mother was my mother.  But Max was not my father."

"Than who. . .?"  Kaid's voice returned, but was smaller than Eddie had ever heard it.

"I'm not sure.  We think it might have been that Malden guy who was killed.  But there's no way to be sure."

Eddie nodded slowly.  That could explain the tension that had always existed between Max and Malden.  But. . .

"I wasn't raised by either of them.  When I was a baby, Max gave me away to another family, the Hortons.  He now says that he found my mother holding me underwater in the bathtub.  But I don't know. . ."

Now it was Kaidlyn's turn to nod.  It made sense.  Her mother got unusually upset about the Yates case in Texas a few years earlier.  "My mom started to say something when there was that case in Texas, but she never really elaborated. . ."

James looked at Kaidlyn.  "So you're Jordan's cousin?"

"Yeah."  She looked towards Eddie, unsure of how much to say.

"Ok.  I. . ."

"I'm assuming that you don't really know anything about the case we were called here on?"  Eddie could tell that Kaidlyn was still really uneasy.  While he didn't think James was dangerous per se, he wanted to get her out of there quickly.

"No.  I'm sorry about that.  I just. . .  I heard you mention the name Cavanaugh and I wanted to talk with her."  He looked at Kaidlyn.  "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"It's ok.  I think we do need to go now, though."  She looked towards Eddie, who nodded and held out his hand to her.  It wasn't something he'd normally do, but she needed the reassurance.  She was clearly unnerved by all this.

After requesting that James please leave her alone in the future, Eddie walked Kaidlyn out the door and to his car.  Once they were buckled in and on the road, he looked over towards her.

"You ok?"

"I guess.  I just. . ."

"It's a lot to take in.  Do you believe him?"

"Given some things I learned about my own part of the family, I think we've all got a lot of secrets.  So yeah, I think it's possible."

"You want to go and talk with Max?"

"No.  Not yet.  There'll be time for that later."

"Ok."  He turned his eyes back towards the road.  He sensed that Kaidlyn had a lot more to say than she was letting on, but he was her supervisor.  Some things just weren't appropriate.

"Hey Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"Um. . .  Uncle Max is having an open mic night at the Pogue tonight.  I was gonna do a couple of songs, and I think Jordan is too.  Would you. . .  Not like a date or anything, but would you want to come?  I think some of the other guys from the precinct are coming ~ the morgue crew too."

"Yeah.  The Pogue's a cool place.  And it'll be nice to hang out with friends."

The rest of the day passed without incident, and before long, everyone had piled into the Pogue with open mic night in full swing.  Kaidlyn sang a song, Jordan sang a couple, and they did a rendition of "Closer to Fine" that would have made Amy and Emily jealous.  Lily read some of her poetry.  Finally Max announced that Kaidlyn would perform the last song.

She picked up her guitar and hopped up onto the stool.  After a couple of chords, she opened her mouth and started to sing, her sweet soprano voice doing an amazing cover of the Sara Evans song:

She wore a dress with cherries on it 

_Going somewhere that she'd be wanted_

_A town this small, all they do is talk._

_No wedding ring; chilled fingernail polish_

_She always wished that she could go to college_

_But some dreams fade, they just slip away._

_She started to show a few months ago_

_And she had to go_

_That's how she wound up_

_On the backseat of a Greyhound bus_

_Head hung down with the windows up_

_Staring at the rest of her life._

_She never thought this would be the place_

_Where she would find her saving grace_

_But she fell in love, she fell in love_

_On the backseat of a Greyhound bus._

_Moon was full, the stars were smiling_

_God has a funny sense of timing_

_The baby came on the interstate_

_Somewhere between Jackson and Memphis_

_She finally found what she had been missing_

_She cried and laughed while the red lights flashed_

_Sweet baby girl_

_She looked into the face of a new_

_The face of a brand new world_

_On the backseat of a Greyhound bus_

_Heart so full that is could bust_

_Staring at the rest of her life_

_She never thought this would be the place_

_Where she would find her saving grace_

_But she fell in love, she fell in love_

_On the backseat of a Greyhound bus_

As the words hit his ears, Max almost dropped the glass he was drying.  Kaidlyn knew. . .  There was no other explanation for it.  Sure, she could have heard the song and fallen in love with it.  But when he looked at her and saw the tears shimmering behind her lashes, he knew she knew.  Laura had told her.  How much he couldn't be sure.  But Kaidlyn knew something of the way she entered the world.

As Kaidlyn finished to awed applause, she looked at Jordan and then at Max.  And the three of them knew that it was going to be a long night of honest conversation.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	7. Breakdown

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 7 (revised)**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

Additional author's notes: 1)This chapter has been in the works for a while…long before I read Shadowfax6's story with Maddie.  Any similarities with panic attacks is PURELY coincidental.  2) Thanks to my friend Bren for pointing out how unrealistic the first version of this was ~ I had another idea I almost used, and that's what I've gone back to here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Max asked Kaidlyn and Jordan to hang out for a little while as he closed up, told them he wanted to talk about some things.  They looked at each other and shrugged.  There were worse ways to spend the night than hanging out together.  

Eddie came over to say good-night on his way out, and just as he was turning to leave, his pager went off.

"Damn it!  Can I use the phone?"

"Sure."  Jordan pulled the phone over the bar.  Eddie dialed dispatch and listened intently.

"Uh huh.  Where?  How bad?  Are the paramedics on the way?  Alright.  Should I bring Kaidlyn along?  Yeah, you're right.  She's gotta get used to these things."  Eddie hung up the phone and looked at Kaidlyn.  "You think you can get out of the family conversation tonight?  We've got. . ."

"I heard.  Let me check."  She went into the back and returned a minute later.  "He said it's ok.  After all, I'm here to learn."

"Ok.  Let's go.  Jordan, I'll get her back as soon as I can."

"Ok.  Have fun.  And be careful." Jordan waved as they went to the door.

When they got to the car, Eddie filled Kaidlyn in on what was happening.  "Ok.  We've got a DV ~ domestic violence ~ case.  We're on it because they're not sure the woman's going to make it ~ and then it becomes a murder case rather than just attempted murder.  And since you're riding shotgun with me for the next nine months, you get to come along as well.  Don't worry.  You'll be fine."

"Yeah.  I heard that back at the Pogue," Kaidlyn muttered as she looked out the window.

Hoping she'd understand that he was being reassuring, Eddie reached over and squeezed Kaidlyn's hand.  "They just caught me off guard.  Kaid, look at me.  I know you can do this.  You'll be fine.  I won't lie to you.  These are never easy cases.  But I know you'll be ok."

"Ok."

Too soon for Kaidlyn, they were at the non-descript house.  She had a knot in her gut that came from more than just the fact that this was her first time taking a statement.  But she couldn't tell Eddie what else was going on.  She just couldn't.

Eddie spoke to the officer at the door and then held the police tape up for Kaidlyn to step under.  The paramedics were just pulling up.  Thankfully the neighbors were listening and called the cops.  They had no way of knowing that things had gotten violent, so no paramedics were called until the first unit arrived and saw what was going on.  

The woman ~ young, probably around Kaidlyn's age ~ was lying on the floor, blood pooling around her.  It wasn't the worst case he'd seen, but it was close.  Eddie turned towards Kaidlyn ~ or where she'd been.  She was nowhere to be seen.  He looked at the uniform in the doorway.

"Where'd she go?"

"Outside.  She. . .  I've never seen anyone react like that."

Eddie jumped up and ran past him into the yard.  Kaidlyn had gotten about 15 yards before collapsing in a shaking blob.

Eddie immediately went to Kaidlyn's side.  He had no clue what was happening.  Her information form hadn't listed anything like epilepsy.  "Kaid?  Kaidlyn?  What's wrong?  Talk to me kiddo."

But Kaidlyn could only look at him.  She couldn't say a word.

Reacting on instinct, he grabbed his cell phone with the hand Kaid hadn't managed to grab yet and frantically dialed Jordan's cell phone.  "Come on Cavanaugh.  Pick up.  For the love of. . ."

"Cavanaugh."

"Jordan, it's Eddie."

"What's up?"

"Do you know where Maple Street is?"

"Um, yeah.  I'm pretty sure I do.  Why?"

"I need you over here now.  Number 243.  I don't know what's happened, but Kaidlyn's freaking out.  We walked in to the scene and as I was surveying it, she freaked and ran outside.  I can't calm her down.  She can't talk, and she's bordering on hyperventilation."

"I'll be there in three minutes."  Jordan's voice was calm on the surface, but Eddie detected that she was much more nervous than she was letting on.

"Jordan. . ."

"I'm in the area.  But if I get pulled. . ."

"Tell them you're on business with me."

"Ok.  See you in a couple."

In less than three minutes, Jordan was in the yard.  She ran over to Eddie and somehow managed to extract Eddie's sweater from Kaidlyn's hands, sliding into his place.

"Kaidlyn?  Baby?  What's wrong?  Come on, sweetie.  Deep, slow breaths."  She relaxed a bit herself as she saw Kaid look at her and begin to relax.  "That's right.  Good girl."

As Kaidlyn's breath eased to a more normal pattern, her shaking slowed.  Sitting up, she fell into Jordan's arms in tears.  Jordan looked up at Eddie.

"Can you help me get her to my car?  I'm gonna take her to Dad's.  Maybe he'll have a clue what's going on."

"How are you going to drive?"

"Oh.  I didn't think about that.  Um. . ."

"It's ok.  I'll drive.  I'll see if one of the uniforms can follow us ~ we've got enough people here.  Many more and we risk missing something."  Eddie leaned down and helped Jordan pull Kaidlyn to her feet.  He told the remaining uniforms that he'd be back shortly, then they walked to Jordan's Explorer.  Jordan settled into the backseat with a still sobbing Kaidlyn and tossed the keys to Eddie.

It seemed to take forever to get to Max' house, but eventually they got there.  Eddie again helped Jordan walk Kaidlyn up the walk and onto the front porch.  Jordan tried the door and was surprised to find it open.  The trio walked inside.

"Dad?"  Jordan called out.  They heard footsteps and Max came into the hall from the kitchen.  Taking one look at Kaidlyn, he rushed to them.

"Sweet Jesus, what happened?"  He scooped Kaidlyn up and went into the living room, setting her down on the sofa.  Jordan sat next to her, and Kaid immediately curled into her arms again.

Eddie explained what he knew of what had happened.  Max nodded slowly.  "I think I know what set her off.  Thanks for taking care of her, Eddie."

"Not a problem, Max.  Call me if there's anything I can do." He knelt down in front of Kaidlyn.

"You ok now, kiddo?"  He was surprised to see Kaidlyn nod slightly.  "Ok.  You're gonna be fine.  If you need to take a couple of days off, do it.   I just want you to be ok."  He ruffled her hair as he stood up.  Again thanking Jordan and Max, he went out to the uniform's car and they returned to the crime scene.

Max turned to Jordan and Kaidlyn.  "Kaid?  You ok?"

"I. . .I think so."  Kaidlyn's voice was absolutely tiny, but it was returning.

"Do you. . .?"

"I think I know why it happened."  She looked dead in his eyes.

"I think we need to have a talk."  Max sat down in the chair and readied himself for a long night ~ even longer than he'd initially thought it would be after her song.

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	8. Confession Part 2

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 8**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

I'd intended to end this with this chapter, but jmkw and some other friends from a role play group have convinced me to take this in another direction after this chapter. . .and the title still fits.  So. . .

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Max sat down on the ottoman across from Jordan and Kaidlyn on the couch.  He contemplated sitting between them, but he decided the cousins might need each other before the night was over.  He had no idea. . .

"Alright, I'm not quite sure where to start.  But. . .  Jordan, do you remember the night Laura came to the house, all upset?"

"Not really," she said.

"Alright.  Well, she came here because she was afraid to go home.  She'd been to the winter formal at school with her boyfriend.  And he'd raped her.  She begged me not to do anything, and for some reason, I listened. I didn't say anything until a couple of months later."  He paused.

"She showed up at our door again.  In tears again.  She was pregnant."

Kaid looked up at Max, her face unreadable.

"From the rape?"  Jordan asked the question Kaid already knew the answer to.  Max seemed unable to continue, so Kaid picked up the story her mother had told her three and a half years earlier.

"She didn't know what to do.  Abortion was barely legal, but she didn't think she could do it.  No one would adopt a rape baby ~ even if it was an acquaintance rape.  But she couldn't let her mother and father know.  They would have kicked her out of the house.  So she came to Uncle Max and Aunt Emily for help.  They let her stay here for a while."

"I remember that," Jordan said.  "I liked having her here."

"Anyway, as she got bigger, she knew she had to go away.  She didn't think it was fair to ask you for any help.  She cleaned out her savings account and bought a ticket as far as it would take her ~ to Wilmington, North Carolina.  It was. . .kind of close to her due date.  And. . ."  Kaid paused, and Jordan figured out why her father had been so absorbed by the song Kaid sung.

"You really were born on a bus?"

"Yeah.  When we got to Wilmington, she met some guy who took us in.  But it wasn't a good situation."  Kaid's voice trailed off.

Max picked up the story.  "He abused her.  Never Kaid, only Laura.  She'd write to us saying she wanted to come home.  But there was no way she could go back to my parents' house.  They just couldn't accept that their youngest daughter was raped.  She didn't want to disrupt us any more than she already had, so we rented an apartment for her and the baby ~ Kaidlyn.  You know, your name was supposed to by Kaitlyn, but the nurse at the hospital misunderstood your mother's accent and typed a "d" instead of a "t."  Laura thought it was cute ~ and unique ~ so she never bothered to correct it.

"After Emily. . .  Well, before that, Laura had been in touch with the guy from Wilmington again.  He swore he'd changed.  He said he wanted to marry her.  But she wouldn't leave.  She helped me out so much with you when your mother was sick, Jordan.  She felt guilty leaving.  After Emily was murdered, Laura felt like she needed to get away.  I didn't feel that I could stop her.  So she packed up and moved back to North Carolina.  Eventually I guess she married him. . ."

Kaid nodded.  "But it didn't last long.  Just long enough that she got money from him in the divorce.  That's when we moved to Ocean Isle.  But she kept on dating guys who were abusive.  That's why I applied for School of Science and Math.  I wanted to get away.  None of them ever touched me. . .she made sure of that.  But I couldn't do anything about it where she was concerned.  At least I didn't think I could.  Finally I told one of our friends, and she got Mama into counseling and away from the idiot she'd been with.  But not before he landed her in the hospital and almost killed her."  The guilt Kaid felt was evident in her voice.

"Kaidlyn, it's not your fault."  Max reached over and patted her knee while Jordan hugged her closer.

Kaid looked from Jordan to Max.  "I guess you're thinking that's why I freaked out tonight."

They both nodded.

"It's not.  There's something you don't know.  I made Mama promise not to say anything.  I needed to be ready to tell the story myself.  It was after college graduation. . .in that year and a half between college graduation and going to Kenya. I was only supposed to be home a year. They. . .they wanted to make sure I was ok." She was dancing around things, she knew. She took a deep breath and grabbed Jordan's hand as she simultaneously pulled her knees to her chest. To afraid to look at Max, she looked only at Jordan and willed her voice to work as she continued.

"I was out doing turtle patrol. It was nesting season and I was watching the beach, making sure that none of the female turtles got stranded. . .or poached. . .on their way to or from the water and marking their egg sites so we could watch them over the summer. That's an overnight job." 

A breath. "I felt weird all night, but really didn't think anything of it. Nothing ever happened. It was the beach ~ a safe place for me. My refuge. . ." 

Another breath. "When my shift ended as the sun was beginning to come up. I decided to go for a walk on the beach ~ I'd been seeing dolphins for a few weeks, and they helped calm me if my mind was whirling. I guess I wasn't paying attention to what was going on around me cause someone came up behind me. It was a guy from high school ~ we'd gone out a couple of times, but nothing serious...and not since sophomore year. He. . ." God, this wasn't much easier than it was in therapy or at the trial. "He pushed me down in the sand. It was so early no one else was around. The other turtle patrol members had gone home already. I told him no. I kicked, scratched, screamed. . .everything I could to get away. It was early so there weren't tourists and most of the homes were deserted. And then he pulled a knife on me and said if I didn't shut up, he'd kill me. I didn't know what else to do. He. . ." She fought with herself, willing herself to just say it."He raped me."

There. She'd said it. Now to see if her cousin and uncle would understand. . .

"Oh my God, Kaid!"  Jordan pulled her closer and held the younger woman.  "Sweetie, why did you keep this a secret?"

"I wasn't ready to talk about it yet."  Kaid tried to explain.  She knew that some people might find it weird that she didn't really cry anymore when she talked about it.  But she'd been through that.  Many, many times.  Now it was just fact. . .part of who she was.

Max was clenching and unclenching his fists.  All he wanted to do was find the guy who'd done that to Kaidlyn.  Find him and make him pay.  "Does. . .?"

Kaid looked over at Max and reached her hand out to him.  When he took it, she looked at him.  "I asked Mama not to tell anyone.  I wanted. . .I needed to be able to do it on my terms.  Please understand."

"Of course I do, baby!  Of course I do!"  Max leaned over and kissed her forehead.  "How about I make us some hot chocolate?"

"Sounds great Uncle Max," Kaid smiled at him.

"Yeah.  Thanks, Dad."  Jordan was still in shock.  If the same thing had happened to her, she wasn't sure she could be as strong.  She sat there, rubbing Kaid's back and soon noticed that her breathing had slowed and she was asleep.  It had been a rough night for her, after all.

When Max came back into the room, he looked at Jordan holding her sleeping cousin's head in her lap.  "Poor kid.  She's had a rough day," he said as he knelt and stroked her hair.

He was trying to figure out how to get her upstairs when the doorbell rang.  He went to the door and found Eddie standing there.

"We finished up with all we can do tonight, and I wanted to some and see how she's doing. . ."  He stepped in as Max stepped back to allow him into the house.  He looked in the living room and saw Jordan rubbing Kaid's back as she slept.

"She's ok.  Or she will be," Jordan answered the unspoken question on his face.  She just fell asleep.

"And I don't trust myself to carry her upstairs," Max added.

Eddie turned and looked at him.  "If you'd like, I can take her."

Max nodded, so Eddie went over and gently picked up Kaid's sleeping form.  Jordan led the way up to her old room and pulled down the sheets on the bed.  Eddie lay Kaid down on the bed and gently took her shoes off to tuck her in.  

Jordan felt awkward being there, obviously there was a deep connection that had been established between Kaid and Eddie.  But at the same time, she didn't want to just leave them there.  Jordan got to the door and turned back in time to see Eddie tuck Kaid into bed and gently kiss her forehead.  

As they left the room, Eddie looked at Jordan to explain, but she raised her hand.  "It's ok.  You don't owe me an explanation."  She put a hand on his arm.  "Just don't hurt her."

"Jordan, I'm not even. . ."  He stopped.  He realized that he was feeling things for her he shouldn't be.  And after tonight, he wasn't sure that she should be working with a male anyway.  He didn't know details, but obviously some man had hurt this girl badly ~ or someone close to her.  He made a decision.  "You know, I think she might do better working with Lois.  I'll talk with the commander about a switch tomorrow."

Jordan nodded.  "Yeah.  A woman might be better."

They got to the base of the steps, and Eddie looked at Max.  "She's all set.  I'll drop by in the morning to see how she is.  I. . .I feel responsible for all this, dragging her there and everything."

"Eddie, it's not your fault.  What happened would have happened eventually."  Max stopped.  "But that's not for me to tell you.  I'll let Kaid. . .when and if she feels ready."

"Fair enough.  Good night, Max.  Jordan."  And Eddie walked into the night to drive home for a fitful night's sleep.  

Max looked at Jordan.  "I don't know, Dad.  But he really does care what happens to her."  Jordan shrugged.  "You know?  If it's ok, I'll sleep on the floor in my old room.  I really don't think Kaid should be alone tonight."

"Alright, sweetheart.  I'll see you in the morning."

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	9. Transitions

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 9**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

Credit (or blame) for the extension of this goes to jmkw, the newmoo, bevan and a couple of other people who encouraged me to bring an aspect of a role play group into this story…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, at the precinct. . .

Detective Lois Carver looked up as she heard a knock on her door. When she saw Eddie Winslow standing in the doorframe, she motioned him in.  "Morning, Eddie.  What can I do for you today?"

Eddie smiled and motioned to a chair, asking if he could take a seat.  When Lois nodded, he sat and took a deep breath.  "Lois, you've met my intern, right?  Kaidlyn Reilly?"

"Yeah.  She seems like a real sweet girl.  And I've heard she's smart as a whip."

"From what I've seen, you're right on both counts."  He paused.  "But. . .I've run into a bit of a dilemma."

"What's that?"  Lois tried not to raise an eyebrow, but she felt it arching anyway.  She'd seen the girl around the precinct, and hoped this wasn't going where she thought it was.

"Some things have come up lately that make it seem like she'd probably be better off with a female supervisor," Eddie stated it as bluntly as he could.

"Really?"  Lois sounded surprised.  "How's that?"

"I don't know for sure, but. . .  Did you see the info on the DV case we were called to last night?"

"Um, yeah.  I think I remember seeing something about it on the news.  It looked brutal."

"It was.  And something happened with Kaid.  I don't know what.  She freaked out on me.  I had to call Jordan to come and help me with her ~ she and Kaidlyn are cousins," he added for clarification.

"I remember my first few DV cases.  I 'freaked out' on a couple of them myself."

"Yeah.  I think we all have.  But this was different. . ."  Eddie's voice trailed off.  He'd really hoped that would be enough to convince her to take Kaid on.  He looked down at his hands in his lap, not knowing where to go from here.

Lois looked at Eddie as she got up and closed the door.  When she sat back down, she gently said, "Eddie?"

"Yeah?"

"This has to do with more than just last night, doesn't it?"  Lois' voice was gentle as she spoke.

Eddie sighed.  "Yeah.  It does."  He looked at Lois, who simply nodded her encouragement.  "I. . .God, Lois, I never expected this to happen, but I think I'm falling for her.  And that's not good on so many levels."

"Eddie. . ."

"I mean, not only is there the age difference, she's my subordinate.  And. . .and even though it hasn't come up yet, I don't think I could work an unsecured scene with her.  I'd be too worried that she was alright to focus on anything else around me.  That would put everyone on the scene at potential risk."  He paused, taking a deep breath.  "And. . ."

"And she's Max Cavanaugh's niece?"  Lois finished for him.  When Eddie nodded, sheepishly, she laughed gently.  "Man. . ."

"I didn't mean for this to happen!"  Eddie said.  "It just. . ."

"It just did.  Eddie?  It's ok.  Well, not. . .  Have you done anything about what you're feeling?"

"Not really.  I did go by Max's house last night to check on her once we'd finished up at the scene."  He thought about his second visit to Max's house.  "And I carried her upstairs to put her in bed cause she was already asleep."  He decided to leave out the kiss on the forehead.  "And Jordan was with me the whole time, so nothing improper happened," he added quickly.

Lois looked at Eddie and slowly nodded.  "Eddie, I'd be happy to take her on as an intern.  But you're going to have to clear it with the commander.  Any clue on doing that?"

"You don't think the female angle will work?"

"Actually that's probably your best bet.  How bout I come with you?"

"That would be great, Lois," Eddie said.  They stood and went to the commander's office.  

Once Lois explained about women in law enforcement needing more female role models and mentors, he agreed and signed the forms transferring Kaidlyn's supervision to Detective Lois Carver. On their way back to their offices, Lois turned and looked at Eddie.  "Ok, who's gonna tell her?"

Eddie nodded, understanding what she was thinking.  "I will.  It'll probably be better for her to hear it from me."

"Yeah.  Alright, bring her down to my office when you've told her."  Lois shook Eddie's hand.  "And Winslow?"

"Yeah?"

"I really admire you for seeing this and doing something about it before. . ."

"Thanks, Lois."  Eddie went into his office and waited for Kaid to come in.

******************************

Simultaneously at Max' house. . .

Jordan woke up, momentarily disoriented as to where she was.  She looked around and saw Kaidlyn still sleeping in the bed next to her.  She rubbed her eyes as she remembered what had happened the night before.

After Eddie left, Jordan had pulled out an old air mattress and set up camp on the floor of her old room, not wanting Kaid to be alone after everything that had happened.  She'd been sleeping and then woke up for reasons she couldn't explain.  She rolled over and saw that her bed was empty, then sat straight up, looking around.  She relaxed slightly as she saw Kaidlyn curled up in the window seat.  She'd changed into a t-shirt and some pajama pants and was sitting with her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest.  She was resting her chin on them and looking out the window.

Jordan didn't want to startle her, so she slowly got up and moved over towards the window.  As she got closer, Kaid turned her face towards Jordan.  "Hey," she whispered.  "Sorry to wake you."

"No problem, Kaidie," Jordan said, ruffling Kaid's hair and sitting down beside her.

Kaid laughed quietly as Jordan spoke.  "You haven't called me that for ages."

"I know," Jordan laughed.  "But for some reason it just feels right."  She paused.  "You ok?"

Kaid looked at her, eyes wide.  "Yeah.  I just. . ."  Tears sprung to her eyes involuntarily.  "I dreamed about it again.  I haven't done that for months now."

Jordan pulled her cousin close and rocked back and forth with her.  "I'm so sorry all that shit happened to you, baby.  I wish I could snap my fingers and make it all go away.  I wish. . .I wish there was something I could have done."

"Hey, you were a kid yourself when most of it was happening.  It's not your fault."  Kaid drew in a ragged breath through her tears.  "You don't know the number of times I wanted to run away. . .come up here and stay with you and Uncle Max.  Maybe if I had. . ."  Her voice broke off as she buried her face in Jordan' shoulder.

"Shh.  You're safe now."  Jordan rubbed her back, cooing gently to her.  As Kaid's sobs began to subside, Jordan added, "Trust me.  If anyone tries to hurt you now they'll have to get through me and Dad," a pause and then, "And Eddie."

Kaid pulled back and looked at Jordan, a bit surprised.

"Hey, he might not be my favorite person in the world," Jordan explained, "but after tonight there's no denying that he cares about you."  She realized that Kaid had been asleep when he came back by.  "He came back after things were wrapped up from the scene.  He wanted to make sure that you were ok.  And he carried you up here cause you were asleep."

"Oh."  Kaid was touched.  But still. . .

"You wanna get back to bed?"  Jordan tried to hide a yawn.

"Yeah."  Kaid uncurled herself and stood from the seat.  "Jordan?"

"Uh huh?"

"It's a big bed.  You don't have to sleep on the floor."  Kaid smiled at her cousin.

"It's ok, kiddo. . ."  Jordan looked at Kaid's eyes and changed her mind.  "Thanks, that'll be fine."

They'd climbed into opposite sides of the bed and Kaid immediately curled into a ball, her back to the middle of the bed.  Jordan could hear her still crying softly and instinctively reached over and rubbed her back until her breathing steadied and she was asleep.

The sun was streaming in the window, so as Jordan got up, she pulled the shade the rest of the way down.  Kaid needed sleep after last night.  Making sure to pull the covers up so Kaid wouldn't get cold, Jordan tiptoed out of the room and down the stairs.

Max was up and in the kitchen.  "Morning, sweetheart," he smiled as Jordan padded in.

"Morning, Dad.  What. . ."  Jordan looked at the clock on the microwave.  "Crap!  I'm supposed to be at work in fift-. . ."

"It's ok," Max shook his head.  "I took the liberty of calling Garret.  I didn't go into details, but I said we'd had a rough night as a family last night, and he said you could take the day off."

Jordan tried to look indignant, but ended up sinking down on one of the kitchen chairs and laying her head on her arms on the table.  "Thanks Dad.  I guess I don't always know how much I'm pushing myself."

Max walked over and kissed the top of Jordan's head.  "It's alright, sweetheart."  He went to the counter and poured some coffee into a mug then set it down in front of Jordan.  "Kaid still sleeping?"

"Yeah."  Jordan took a sip of coffee.  "She woke up about 3 and we talked for a while, then we went back to bed."  Jordan shook her head, "Dad, it makes me so mad what she went through.  I. . ."

"I know, Jordan.  I know."  Max nodded.  "But you're doing exactly what she needs right now ~ being there for her, letting her talk or cry when she needs to."  At Jordan's raised eyebrow, he confessed, "I heard some noise from your room last night and went to the door.  I watched you talking with her for a few minutes."  He smiled at her, "You did fine."

"Thanks," Jordan said.  "It doesn't feel like much, but. . .  Yeah."  She was glad that so far Max had said nothing about Winslow ~ she wasn't even sure what she'd tell him if he did.  For all she knew, Eddie was just overly protective of his intern. . .well, his for now, unless he'd talked with Lois already.

They heard footsteps and looked over at the doorway where Kaid had just appeared.  She'd pulled her wavy hair up into a loose ponytail and was rubbing her eyes.  "Hi," she said sleepily.

"Morning baby," Jordan pushed a chair back with her foot so Kaid could sit down.  As she did, Jordan playfully tugged her ponytail.  "You sleep ok?"

"Yeah," Kaid smiled at her.

"Alright.  What do you girls want for breakfast?"  Max had the options laid out and was getting ready to pour some coffee for Kaid when she got up and went to the refrigerator, coming back with a can of diet Coke.  "Kaidlyn, I. . ."

"What?  It's caffeine.  Just cause it's cold. . ."

"Ok, ok."  Max laughed.  She had a point.  Kaid and Jordan settled on toasted bagel halves with peanut butter spread on them while Max ate his "twigs and straw" as Jordan had started referring to his cereal when she came back from L.A.

Kaid looked around the table and smiled, thinking how lucky she was to have family like this, especially after everything.  She loved her mom, but this was different.  Jordan had been right with her words the night before.  For the first time in a long while, Kaidlyn felt completely safe.****

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	10. Pinned Ya!

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 10**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters totally aren't mine ~ they belong to Tim Kring and Tailwind Productions.  

Kaidlyn and her mom are my own creations and therefore they're mine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's note: Although I first introduced Kaidlyn in "Endgame," she subsequently appeared in person in "That Night" and in name in "Running."  The timeline here basically follows after "That Night" and before "Endgame" though there will be some overlap and inconsistencies with "Endgame" ~ but since that one's so far from show canon now, we can just pretend, for the sake of this story, that it doesn't exist.  :0)

Credit (or blame) for the extension of this goes to jmkw, the newmoo, bevan and a couple of other people who encouraged me to bring an aspect of a role play group into this story…

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Eddie was lost in thought his whole way to Max's house.  The past couple of weeks with Kaidlyn as his intern had been a whirlwind.  Her first case with him took a dangerous turn, and his inaction in his concern for her safety had almost turned tragic.  At the time he chalked it up to stupidity and the first intern and trying to make sure she didn't get killed on the first case.

But then came the training room yesterday morning. . .

Eddie jogged into the training room hoping to get in some strength training after a morning run.  He was distracted by the sight of Kaidlyn working out with the "robot" that recorded the strength and severity of punches and kicks.  He could tell from the lights that she had power more than some of the guys he'd seen use it.  But she was totally graceful, almost like a dancer, as she worked.  The chance to work with her close up, and maybe learn something from her was too tempting.

"Hey, Kaidlyn!" he called.

"Hey!"  She waved back as he walked over towards her.

"You studied kick-boxing?  You move beautifully."  He wasn't lying.  He'd never seen anyone work like she was.

"Yeah ~ it was always sort of my stress-releiver," she shrugged.

"Ever spar?"  He knew he was treading on dangerous ground, but. . .

"I have," she said, fixing her ponytail.  "Why?  You want to?"

"Sure."  He led her to the sparring ring and found some protective gear small enough for her, then put his own on.  "You ready?"

"Yeah."  And they started, first circling around each other and eventually moving closer until. . .

In a split second, he found himself on his back on the mat, Kaidlyn pinning him down.  Her eyes sparkled as she said, "Pinned ya!"

He rolled over and got up.  "Two out of three?"

"Sure."  They prepared to start again.  Neither of them noticed that several of the uniformed officers and other detectives had stopped what they were doing and begun watching the pair.  They didn't hear the gasp around the room as Kaid took Eddie down that quickly.  

The second round was even quicker.  Eddie tried to concentrate, but the thought of the possibility of accidentally hurting her popped into his mind, and before he knew it, he was back on the mat, not unlike his position of no more than five minutes earlier.  "Pinned ya again!" Kaid said breathlessly, their faces mere inches apart.

They stayed in that position for a minute, neither one daring to move.  Finally, realizing that something he had no control over was happening, Eddie rolled Kaidlyn off of him and got up to head for the locker room.  "Good match.  I'll see you in a few."

What Eddie didn't know was that after he took off, leaving Kaid sitting in the middle of the ring, totally confused, one of the detectives came over to see if she was ok.  Woody had never seen anyone take Winslow down like that ~ none of them had.  He knew that she was an intern ~ and that something about her seemed way too familiar.  But mostly he wanted to make sure she was ok ~ that Winslow hadn't said anything to hurt her.  That Midwestern upbringing that made him not hit girls made him fiercely protective of anyone who looked to be hurt.  But someone asked him a question and when he turned back to the mat, the girl was gone.  He made a mental note to find out who she was later.

Later that afternoon, Eddie had called the department psychiatrist to talk with him about what was going on.  His dreams of his childhood were back.  He always swore that he wouldn't be like his father was.  But those dreams. . .  The shrink reminded him that he was NOT his father and that his conscious desire to not repeat the pattern was a big step in the right direction.  While the shrink advised against running from this, he didn't say anything about not assigning her to someone else in the department.  Eddie rationalized his decision by reminding himself that he'd still see her around the precinct.  He wasn't running away from his demons. . .  Really he wasn't.

And then after last night. . .  Kaidlyn obviously had her demons as well.  Was he crazy for even trying this.  Demons on both sides were the reason nothing ever worked between him and Jordan oh so many years ago.  Very few people knew that they'd tried to build a relationship, but nothing ever came of it.  They danced around things for a few weeks and then decided that things would never work between them.  And then he was made Max's partner. . .

And now here he was, in the same pattern with Max's niece.  He didn't even know who she was when she waltzed into his office, but something about her rocked him to the very core of his being, even then.  And nothing changed after he found out she was Jordan's cousin.  Why did he think things were going to be any different with Kaid?  Why was he willing to try and work through those demons with her when it didn't work with Jordan?  He didn't know the answers, or if things would work.  Hell, he didn't even know if Kaidlyn thought about him remotely the same way.  He thought he'd seen something in her eyes when she pinned him for the second time, but. . .

Eddie pulled the car up in front of Max's house and parked, trying to steady his breathing.  He was here to check on Kaid and make sure she was alright.  And to tell her that she was going to have a new mentor/supervisor.  And, if he kept his courage up, to ask her to dinner. . .

**. . .to be continued. . .**


	11. From Mentor to

Tangled Webs 

**Chapter 11**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine!  They're just using my head for their personal playground!

Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Simultaneously (to Eddie's actions in the last two chapters) at Max's house. . .

Kaidlyn jumped up from the table, ready to bolt upstairs.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"  Max was concerned.

"I just looked at the time.  I'm gonna be late!  I. . ."  She stopped as she saw Max shaking his head.

"Don't worry about today.  When Eddie came by last night to check on you, he told me he was giving you the day off."

"Great."  Kaid sounded less than enthusiastic as she flopped back down on the chair.  "I'm here for less than a week and I've already screwed up."

"Kaid, baby, why do you think you've screwed up?"  Jordan reached over and took her hand.  "There's nothing wrong with taking a little time off to deal with stuff…  What?" she added as Max raised an eyebrow at her.  "Ok, so maybe I'm better at giving that particular advice than following it," she laughed.

"Ok, well, I guess I'm gonna go and watch TV," Kaid decided as she got up.  She went in the den and flipped around on the TV, finally settling on some prime time drama in syndication.  When Jordan walked by thirty minutes later, she was sound asleep on the couch.

A couple of hours later, Jordan and Max were sitting at the kitchen table talking and Kaid was still napping on the couch.  The doorbell rang, and Max opened the door to find Eddie standing on the porch.

"Hey, Eddie," Max smiled.  "Come on in."

"Morning, Max," Eddie nodded.  "I, um, I just wanted to come by and see how Kaidlyn's doing this morning."

"I think she's sleeping in the den, but I'll show you where it is," Jordan said, coming out of the kitchen.  She led him to the den where they found Kaid sitting up and stretching.  "Hey, kiddo," she smiled.  "Good nap?"

"Yeah," Kaid said as she rubbed her eyes.  She couldn't believe how wiped she was.

"Ok.  Hey, someone's here to see you," Jordan smiled as Eddie came around her back and nodded at Kaidlyn.

"Hey, Kaid," Eddie said as he came into the room and sat on the opposite end of the couch from Kaid.

"Hey, Eddie," Kaid said, pulling her feet up under her on the couch and pulling at the pillow next to her.

"Ok, well, I'm gonna leave you two alone," Jordan said as she turned to return to the kitchen.  "Let us know if you need anything."  She left and walked back to the kitchen, convincing Max to stay put and give them some time to talk.  She wasn't sure what was up, but she sensed that things needed to be said between the two people in the den, unheard by others.

As Jordan walked down the hall, Eddie looked at Kaidlyn and smiled.  "So, how are you doing this morning?"

"I'm ok," she smiled back.  "I'm sorry about freaking out like that last night.  I just. . ."

"You don't need to explain," Eddie shook his head.  "It eventually happens to most of us at one time or another."

"Ok," Kaid shrugged.  They sat there for a minute, Eddie trying to figure out how to say what he needed to and Kaid trying to figure out what was going on.  Finally Eddie spoke.

"Kaid, there's another reason I came over here.  I. . .I needed to talk with you about the internship."  At the look on her face, he knew he needed to say things clearly and quickly.  "Kiddo, I can't supervise you anymore.  But you're still going to be at the department.  Lois Carver is going to take over.  You'll like her ~ and you'll learn a lot from her."

"It's because of last night, isn't it?"  Kaid was looking at him, eyes wide but tearless ~ it seemed she'd cried all her tears out the night before.

Eddie slid a little closer to her on the couch and reached over to take one of her small hands in his own.  "The fact that you're assigned to a female does result from last night ~ I don't know details and I don't need to know details, but it just feels like working with a woman would be better for you.  But. . .even before last night I was planning to have you reassigned."

Kaid's stunned face and lack of ability to say anything told him he needed to say this.  Sort of like ripping a bandage off, he felt that once the words were out, they'd both feel better.

"Remember the scene a couple of days ago?  When I was so busy checking on you the guy almost got to his gun because I didn't cuff him when he was unconscious?"  She nodded.  "I wasn't able to do my job because I was too worried about you.  About making sure nothing happened to you.  Yes, you're always concerned about your partner's back, but not at the expense of everyone else on a scene.  And yesterday morning in the training room only reemphasized that.  I'm not discounting your skill in any way ~ you are amazing and probably would have taken me down anyway.  But I was so worried about hurting you I wasn't as aggressive as I would normally be."  He paused and tried to read her face.  

Finally he said, "Kaid?  Look at me."  When her eyes met his, he said, "You are an incredibly gifted person and can do whatever you choose to do in law enforcement with the right training.  And that's why I'm turning you over to Lois.  I can't provide what you need, the detachment that's necessary for so many aspects.  I care about you too much."

Kaid just looked at him for a minute.  Then, "Are you saying you like me?"

Eddie nodded, somewhat shyly.  "Yeah.  From the minute I saw you, I wished you were gonna be anybody's intern but mine."  He couldn't read her face at all.  "But it's ok if you don't feel the same way.  I mean, I am 12 years older than you.  And there's all the stuff with Max.  And. . ."  He might as well get it over with.  "But if you want to, I'd like to take you to dinner tonight."

Kaid studied his face, trying to absorb everything he was saying.  She had to admit, she'd felt something for him too.  And that morning when she pinned him. . .  The question of what Max would think crossed her mind briefly, but she decided she could deflect that.  Maybe nothing would come of it, but she knew that if she didn't at least go to dinner, she'd never find out.  Still, there was everything that had happened to her. . .  "If you knew the whole story behind last night, I doubt you'd feel the same way. . ."

She put it out as a test, and Eddie knew that.  He had no idea what horrors this girl had been through, but for some reason he wasn't afraid of finding out.  "Whatever it is, I'm not afraid of it.  And I won't push you.  You can tell me about it when you're ready. . .if you ever do."  His voice was gentle and his eyes radiated sincerity.

"Ok," Kaid said quietly.  "I'd love to go to dinner."  She looked up at him and smiled.

"Great!"  Eddie leaned over and kissed the top of her head.  "I'll pick you up about 6:30?"  As Kaid nodded, he got up to leave.

Kaid walked him to the door and as he was about to leave, she spontaneously threw her arms loosely around his shoulders.  As he turned to face her, surprised, she said "Thanks for. . .everything, Eddie."

He looked her in the eyes and gently brushed her lips with his.  "My pleasure.  So I'll see you tonight, ok?"

"Yeah."  Kaid shut the door and stood there for a minute.  This was not happening, was it?  She bounced down the hall to the kitchen where Max and Jordan were talking about some case Jordan had been working on.  She flew to the refrigerator and grabbed a can of diet Coke.  Max and Jordan eyed her, wondering what brought this level of bounciness on.

Finally Max spoke.  "Everything ok?"

"Yeah," Kaid said as she popped the can open and leaned on the island in the middle of the kitchen.  "Things are fine.  Oh, do you know a Lois Carver?"

Jordan spoke up, "I do.  She's good.  We work together pretty regularly.  Why?"

"She's my new supervisor," Kaid said.  Then, "Hey, I'm gonna hop in the shower.  Ok?"  And bounced to the stairs.

Jordan and Max sat stunned, looking at each other for a minute after Kaid left.  Max finally got out, "What the hell?"

Jordan shook her head.  "I have no idea, but I'm going to go and find out."  She got up and was on her way up the stairs before Max could stop her.

Kaid was getting her stuff together to head to the bathroom, but as she turned around to go, she found Jordan blocking the door to her room.  "What?"

"You want to tell me what's going on?"  Geez, she didn't mean to sound like some parent of a kid busted for something.

"Um. . .like I said, I've got a new supervisor.  Eddie said after last night he felt like a female would be better for me."  Kaid really did not want to have this discussion yet.

"Uh huh."  Jordan came in and led Kaid back over to the bed where they both sat down.  "And you're a little too happy about it.  Was Eddie that bad to work with?"

"What?  No!  I loved working with Eddie," Kaid scrunched up her face in confusion.

"So why the bounciness?  Did he ask you out or something?"

"Um. . ."  Kaid wasn't sure what to say.  She knew Jordan would find out sooner or later, she'd just hoped it would be later.

"Oh my God," Jordan's mouth hung open.  "He did, didn't he?"

Kaid nodded mutely.

"And you're happy about it?"

"Yeah, I am.  Jordan, I know you've had your differences with him, but he's a great guy, at least from what I've seen."  Off Jordan's skeptical look, she added, "Besides, right now it's one date for dinner.  Nobody's saying it's going any further than that.  And if I don't go, I'll always wonder.  Sometimes it's worth taking a chance.  Now, can I get a shower?"

Jordan nodded and let her stand up.  "You're going to tell Dad, right?"

"I'll have to.  Eddie's picking me up here."  Kaid smiled.  "But don't worry, I think I can handle Uncle Max."  And she was off to take a shower.

Jordan sat on the bed, shaking her head.  She couldn't deny that Kaidlyn did seem a lot happier than she had the whole time she'd been in Boston.  Maybe Eddie wasn't so bad.  Of course, she'd keep an eye on things and promised herself that Eddie would rue the day he asked Kaid out if he even remotely hurt her.  

And man, her cousin had more nerve than she'd ever dreamed.  Not only going out with him. But having him pick her up at the house?  And Kaid had another point. . .if she didn't take the chance, she'd never know.  Jordan thought for a minute and reached for the phone, dialing a familiar number.

**. . .to be continued. . .**

  ****


	12. Preparations

Tangled Webs 

**Chapter 12**

**Rating: PG-13**

The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine!  They're just using my head for their personal playground!

Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Woody sat at his desk, shuffling through some of the paperwork that littered its surface.  He jumped as the phone rang.  "Hoyt."

"Woody?  Hey, it's Jordan."

"Jordan?  What's up?"  He couldn't hide the smile in his voice.

"Not much.  I've got the day off today…there was some rough stuff with Kaidlyn last night and…"

"Kaidlyn?"

"My cousin.  She sang a couple of songs last night.  I'm surprised you haven't met her yet.  She's doing an internship at the PD ~ she'd been assigned to Winslow, but he switched her to Carver."

"Oh…" Woody thought back to the night before at the Pogue.  He thought he remembered the girl.  Yeah…and she was the same one he'd seen sparring with Winslow a couple of days earlier.  "Any particular reason?"

"She got reassigned?  Well, yeah, but I don't feel like I can go into details."

"Oh."  Woody felt his fists clench.  He didn't even really know the girl, but she'd seemed like a sweetheart and the thought that Winslow could have…

"Not that way, Woody.  Eddie's great with her.  It's just…it was determined that it would be much easier for her to work with a female.  That's all."

"Oh.  Ok."  He sighed.  

"Anyway…" Jordan continued.  "I was wondering if you'd maybe want to go out for dinner tonight?"

"Are you asking me out?"

"Um, yeah.  I guess so."  

"Jordan Cavanaugh…  I…"

"Never mind.  I'm sure that you've got…"

"Jordan?  Shut up a minute."  He laughed.  "I would love to go out with you tonight."

"Really?"

"Yes really."

"Ok, so…I'll pick you up around 6:30?"

"That sounds great, Jordan.  I'll see you then." Woody smiled as he hung up the phone.  This was turning into quite a day.

He got up and walked down the hall to the break room, feeling the need for some coffee or some soda.  Eddie and Lois Carver were sitting there, and Lois got up as he walked in.

"Alright, thanks for filling me in, Winslow.  I think she and I will work fine together."  She nodded at Woody.  "Hoyt."  And walked out of the room.

For whatever reason, Woody had never felt too comfortable around Eddie, though he could never pin down just why.  But…  "Lieutenant."

"I was just filling Lois in on the girl she's going to be working with…"

"Jordan's cousin?"  Woody sat down.  Hell, he was in a good mood, and Winslow seemed to be as well.  Might as well take advantage of it.

Eddie looked over at the younger man.  "Yeah.  How'd you…?"

"Jordan just called me about something and told me bits and pieces when she was explaining why she was off work today."

"Oh.  Ok.  Yeah ~ Kaid's a great girl…she just needed to be working with a woman right now.  But if you're ever double assigned with Lois keep your eye on her.  Talented as all hell…" Eddie felt the smile spread across his face and knew there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.

Woody noticed the smile, but given that he was about to go out with someone he worked with, he wasn't going to say anything to Winslow about it.  "Yeah.  I think I saw her working in the training room the other day…"

"Yeah.  I asked her if she wanted to spar.  And then I paid dearly for it…" he shook his head.  "But it's all good."

"Yeah…" Woody couldn't believe it.  Winslow seemed almost human.  Sort of like Walcott when she and Garret got back…   But no.  Surely Winslow wasn't quite like…

"Anyway, I'd better go and get back to work.  I'll see you around, Hoyt."  Eddie stood and left the break room to return to his office to finish up for the day.

"See you L.T."  Woody said as the older man left.  He returned to his office and did the last bits of paperwork before leaving to get ready for the evening.

…back at Max's house…

Jordan sighed as she hung up the phone.  That hadn't been quite as hard as she'd thought.  Maybe things would be ok.  She heard the shower stop and moments later, Kaid bounced into the room, wrapped in an oversized beach towel with her wet hair hanging in strings.

"You done in the bathroom for a little while?"  Jordan asked Kaid's back as she rummaged in the closet.

"Um, yeah…" Kaid's muffled voice said.  "I've got my make up and stuff out here."

"Ok.  I'm going to get in the shower."  Jordan got up.  "Can I borrow some of your shampoo and stuff?"

"Yeah, no problem."  Kaid came out of the closet having found what she was looking for.  Fitted jeans, boots, and a boat neck sweater Jordan could tell from looking would set Kaid's blue eyes off perfectly.  She smiled over at Jordan.

"Nice outfit.  Good choice for your coloring."  She nodded.

"Thanks," Kaid replied.  As Jordan went into the bathroom, Kaid pulled on an oversized t-shirt and some boxer shorts for getting ready.  By the time Jordan came out, Kaid had set her make-up…just enough that her eyes really stood out but not so much that she didn't look "natural."

"Looks nice."  Jordan smiled.  "You're really happy aren't you?"

"Yeah," Kaid nodded.  "But I'm nervous as all hell too…"

"You'll be fine."  Jordan placed a reassuring arm around her shoulder and got even with her so they were looking in the mirror.  She squeezed Kaid's shoulder in a hug and gently kissed her cheek.  "I'm glad you're happy."

"Thanks," Kaid smiled and hugged Jordan back.  "Hey wait a minute…are you going out too?"

"Yeah," Jordan nodded.

"You have clothes here?"  Kaid hadn't really seen anything…unless they were going to a late Halloween party and Jordan was going as a Roman Catholic schoolgirl.

"Crap!"  Jordan had totally forgotten about that.  "No.  It's all at my place."

"Look through there…" Kaid said.  "If you find something you want to wear, go for it."  They were close to the same size anyway.

"Thanks, sweetie."  Jordan smiled.  A couple of minutes later, she pulled a denim skirt, tank top, and open-weave sweater out of the closet.  "Can I borrow these?"

"Sure," Kaid shrugged.  She'd progressed to playing around with her hair.  It hadn't dried as wavy as she would have liked.  But it was too wavy to straighten without a lot of work.  Finally she pulled the front sections back and secured them loosely in the back with a clip.

"Looks beautiful, kiddo," Jordan said, looking at her cousin.  She finished applying a bit of make-up and decided on pulling her hair all the way up.

"Thanks," Kaid smiled.  "So do you…"  They heard the doorbell and froze as Max stepped to the door to open it.

"Evening Eddie…" a pause.  "You look nice this evening.  Would you like to come in?"

"Oh my God…" Jordan and Kaid whispered at the same time.  

"Are you here to talk with Kaid about something?"

"Crap!!"  Kaid cringed.  "I was going to tell him, but…  I didn't quite get around to it…"

"It'll be ok," Jordan gave her cousin a hug.  "But you'd better get down there quick!"

Kaid got to the top of the stairs I time to hear Eddie say, "Well, actually sir, I'm taking her to dinner."  She walked down the stairs, calm on the outside though she was shaking like jello inside.

"Hey Eddie," she said.  She turned to Max, who was standing there with his mouth agape.  "I'm sorry.  I was going to tell you, but you were outside after he left and then I got in the shower and then…"

"It's alright Kaid.  Have a good time," Max said, trying to regain his composure.  However, he looked at his former partner pointedly as he finished his thought.  "Just be careful."

"Yes sir," Eddie said, somewhat nervously.  Kaid reached out and took his hand.  "You ready, kiddo?"

"Yeah," she smiled up at him.  "See you later, Uncle Max."  And they were out the door.

When they got to Eddie's car, he was laughing as he turned and looked at Kaid.  "You 'forgot' to tell him?"

"I didn't 'forget,'" she protested.  "He really was gone and then I was getting ready and then…"  Her words got lost as Eddie leaned down and kissed her gently.

"It's ok, baby."  He smiled.  "Come on and hop in," he said as he held the door open for her.  "Italian ok?"  She nodded.  "Good, cause I know this fantastic place…" he said as he got in.

Jordan came down the stairs as Eddie and Kaid were leaving.  She hit the squeaky stair and Max looked up at her.  "You knew about that?"

"Yeah," she nodded.  "When he came to talk with her about reassigning her to Lois he apparently asked her out.  After…" Jordan looked up at her father.  "Dad?  She seems really happy and excited.  And even though I may have my issues with him, Eddie really does seem to care about her…"

"I know.  And I know she's an adult…" Max sighed.  "I just…"

"Don't worry.  If he hurts her, he's gonna have me to deal with," Jordan laughed.  She looked at the clock.  "Christ, I'm gonna be late!"

"You've got a date too?"  Max shook his head.  What was going on around here.

"Yeah…" Jordan said as she grabbed her bag.  "Oh, and Kaidie seems fine, so I'm gonna head back to my place tonight."

"Fine, fine…" Max waved her out the back door and watched her peel away.

Jordan grabbed her cell and dialed Woody's number… 

"Hello?"

"Woody?  It's Jordan.  I'm running a little late."  She paused.  "Kaid had a date and Dad was kind of freaking out.

"Oh.  Ok."  Woody wondered briefly if Kaidlyn's date had anything to do with the smile he'd seen on Winslow's face earlier that day, then put that thought out of his mind.  Thy were consenting adults, and as of that morning Kaidlyn wasn't his intern…  He snapped back to the present.  "Want me to meet you somewhere?"

"Nah.  I'll be there in five minutes.  Mexican ok?"

"Sure.  I'll be outside my building."  Woody smiled as he hung up the phone.  Somehow he had a feeling this evening was going to be one he'd never forget…for better or worse.

**…to be continued…**

  ****


	13. Two Dates

Tangled Webs 

**Chapter 13**

**Two Dates**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine!  They're just using my head for their personal playground!

Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaidlyn and Eddie… 

After dinner, Eddie looked at Kaid.  He reached across the table and took her small hands in his.  "So, what would you like to do next?"

"Hmmm…" she thought.  "I don't know…  I know it's chilly, but is there somewhere we could go for a walk?"

Eddie thought for a minute.  "Yeah, I think I know somewhere.  Come on."  He stood and guided her out of the restaurant and to his car.  He drove to the Esplanade.  "I think it's a little late for a concert, but there's still a nice path down by the river we could walk along, if that's ok."

"Sure," Kaid agreed.  As they walked along, Eddie put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to the side of his body.  Even though Kaid was in unfamiliar territory with someone she hardly knew, she felt strangely safe.  Not _that_ safe, but safe all the same.

It was chillier than she'd thought, and within about five minutes, Kaid was shivering.  Eddie looked down at her and laughed gently.  "Here," he said, taking off his jacket and putting it around her shoulders.  "Let's head back to the car.  I don't want to be responsible for you catching pneumonia."

"Thanks," Kaid smiled sheepishly.  At that moment she looked so adorable, Eddie couldn't resist it any longer.  He bent down and kissed her, a gentle kiss but deep and probing.  Kaid felt herself respond and she relaxed into his arms, losing herself in his kiss.

"Come on," Eddie said as he pulled himself away from her.  "Let's go somewhere you can warm up."  He led the way back to the car, not knowing quite where to go.  It seemed awfully forward and pressuring to take her to his place, she seemed comfortable with him, but there was part of her he sensed was holding back.  And yet in spite of that, he really didn't want to share this evening with other people at a bar or a club, no matter how cool the place was.

"I think Uncle Max had to be at the Pogue tonight…" Kaid offered.  She sensed he was trying to figure out what to do, and she felt like she'd be safe in Max's house given all the history between Eddie and her uncle.

"Ok…" It did sound like a plan, but he remembered the stories about the cops who tried to go out with Jordan…  Still, if being there would help her feel safe and help her relax…  "Why don't we just drive around the Pogue and make sure he's there…"

"What, are you scared of him?"  Kaid teased.  Off his look, she said, "You're probably right…"

A quick drive-by confirmed that Max was indeed at the Pogue.  Kaid decided they'd go on the assumption that he was closing it down.  Better than calling and arousing his suspicions…

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of Max's and walked up to the lighted porch.  Eddie paused as Kaid unlocked and opened the door.  "You sure you want me to come in?"

"Yeah, I'm sure."  Kaid knew her boundaries and she knew how to defend herself now.  Plus, Eddie had gotten a taste of some of those moves when they were sparring the other day.  She felt safe with him.  She walked into the den and turned on the stereo, putting Norah Jones' CD on.  "You want something to drink?"

"Sure," Eddie said.  Kaid went out to the kitchen and came back with two beers.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."  He motioned for her to sit down, and she snuggled up beside him, his hand trailing up and down her arm.  

After a few minutes of just sitting there together, Kaid looked up at Eddie's profile.  He sensed her glance and looked over at her, smiling and not believing she was actually there beside him.  After a beat of looking in each other's eyes, Kaid reached up and kissed him, gently, cautiously, but deeply and passionately.  Eddie responded and kissed her back, gently massaging her back and stroking her hair.  He broke away and held her face in his hands, looking into her eyes.  "You are so beautiful…"

Kaid nodded shyly and reached up to kiss him again, her hands beginning to massage his back as well.  Both were tentative, not knowing how far to push, and yet…  As Eddie's hands wandered below Kaid's waist, she involuntarily tensed up and pulled away.

"No," she shook her head, sliding to the far side of the couch.  "I…I can't."

"Ok," Eddie said.  "It's ok, baby.  We can stop wherever you want."  Damn, what had he done?  Something was obviously scaring her and yet…

"I'm sorry, Eddie.  I just…" she took a deep breath.  Was this the right time to bring it up?  She saw the confusion in his eyes and felt like he deserved an explanation, even though he seemed willing to take things at her pace, but still…

"What, baby?"  Eddie could tell she was trying to decide something.  "It's ok, you don't owe me any explanation.  No means no…"

At those words, Kaid broke down in tears.  She hadn't meant to, she really hadn't, but…  If only everybody understood that.

As the first tears came, Eddie's heart stopped for a minute.  He didn't want to jump to conclusions, but the tears coming immediately after those words he'd spoken…  "Kaid?"  When she looked over at him, he gently said, "If you want to talk about it, I'll listen.  If you don't, that's fine too…"

Kaid looked at him and sensed that he would understand.  Besides, she really liked him and it would be better to know if he was going to bolt because of what happened to her before she let herself fall any harder…  "No, you need to know…"

As much as he wanted to hold her, Eddie sensed from her body language that touch would just make it harder for her to tell the story.  He was there if she needed him to hold her, but otherwise he was not going to push.  Kaid grabbed a pillow from the end of the couch and clutched it to herself, playing with the fringed edge.  Somehow it did seem a little easier to tell each time…  Finally she took a deep breath and started to speak…

"It was just after I graduated from college.  I was supposed to have about six months off before leaving for the Peace Corps, but after…they made me take a little more time to make sure I was ok.  Mama and I lived at the beach ~ Ocean Isle, North Carolina.  We did turtle patrol ~ we'd take shifts during nesting season sitting out on the beach at night and watching for the female turtles to come in and lay their clutch of eggs.  Then we'd mark it and keep and eye on the nests to protect them from poachers.  I had an overnight shift one time, along with several other people.  It was really peaceful, usually.  But that night I had a weird feeling the whole time…

"Our shift ended at sunrise, and I decided to walk on the beach.  My mind was whirling and I was hoping to see the dolphins again.  I never heard this guy come up behind me.  I'd gone out with him once or twice during my sophomore year of high school, so I vaguely knew who he was.  I don't remember what he said…  I just remember him grabbing me and pushing me down on the sand.  I screamed, but it was before the tourists started arriving, and everyone on turtle patrol had gone home.  He picked the perfect spot ~ all the beachfront homes in that vicinity were rentals and no one was in them yet…

"I kicked.  I scratched.  I hit.  I yelled.  I said no over and over again.  But it didn't help.  He…" she swallowed hard, looking over at Eddie who simply nodded, wanting her to finish what she was saying but not pressuring her.  "He ripped my shorts off and crammed his hand between my legs.  I was fighting him the whole time, trying to find some way to get away, praying that someone would come by on a morning jog.  He tried to kiss me, but I wouldn't let him.  This was so far from an act of love…  That was it.  He held me down with one hand and most of his body while he undid the fly on his shorts.  And then…" she shuddered, if she thought about it hard enough, she could still feel the ripping and the pain…

"I had never…  I thought I was being ripped in two when he rammed into me.  I don't know how long it took.  I kept saying no, but mentally I made myself go somewhere else.  He might rape my body, but he wasn't going to get to my spirit.  When it was over, he just got up and left.  No words, no explanation, nothing…  I lay there for a minute, then got up and pulled my shorts on to go home.  I got sick after a couple of yards ~ from stress, crying, yelling, I don't know.  I managed to get up and get to my house.

"Even if I hadn't planned to tell Mama, there's no way that I could have kept it from her.  She was pacing in the living room on the cordless phone with someone at the police station.  She knew that even if I went for a walk, I would have been back.  She looked at me and screamed…  I can still hear that scream.  She dropped the phone and came over and grabbed me and hugged me.  In a couple of minutes, Micah, one of the police officers and a friend of ours, pulled up at the house.  He came in and immediately scooped me up and told Mama to follow him.  He put me into the front seat of the patrol car and Mama sat in the back, then he turned on the siren and drove us to the hospital at Shallotte where they did the rape kit and got me fixed up and ready to go home ~ after talking with a counselor and another police officer Micah had called in.  Then he and Mama took me home…

"Because I could identify the guy, it didn't take long for them to find him.  He wasn't the brightest bulb in the bunch.  There wasn't a trial.  He got a plea bargain, but he's still doing hard time for rape.  His public defender took one look at the medical report and knew there was no way he could make the case that any part of what happened had been consensual.  I think they knocked off the attempted murder part ~ he'd tried to choke me at one point and I had bruises around my neck.  But he's safely away for at least 10 years."  Kaid stopped and looked over at Eddie, trying to read his thoughts.

Eddie was torn between wanting to go and rip the little s.o.b. limb from limb for doing that to anyone, least of all Kaidlyn and wanting to cradle Kaid in his arms and tell her everything was going to be alright.  Rape always made him angry, but especially when it involved either a child or when they knew it took someone's virginity.  But knowing this guy was in prison and would be for a while made it easier for Eddie to concentrate on Kaidlyn and what she needed.  

"Oh God, baby…" He wanted to reach out and hold her, but at the same time…  Kaid solved his dilemma for him when she crawled across the couch and threw herself into his arms, tears streaming down her face.  "I'm so sorry.  Kaidie, I'm so sorry that had to happen to you…" he knew his words meant little, but…  He heard her mumbling something.  "What?"

She pulled back and looked at him.  "I said, so if you don't want to go out with me anymore, it's ok…I'll understand."

"I wouldn't," he said, shocked.  Had men actually turned her down after hearing her story?  Or had they even bothered to find out anything about her?  Taking her chin in his hands he gently tipped her face up to look in her eyes.  "Baby, I would never not want to be with you because of something like that.  What happened was NOT your fault."

He leaned in to kiss her gently, but was surprised when he felt her respond passionately, wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.  When they heard the clock striking eleven, they broke apart and she looked at him.  "I guess since we both have to work tomorrow…"

"Yeah, I should probably be getting home," Eddie said reluctantly.  "But I don't want to just leave you here…"

"I'll be fine…" but it sounded weak and flimsy even to her own ears.  "I really don't want to be alone either," she finally confessed.  "But…"

"Well…" as much as Eddie would have been happy to stay, he knew that's not what she needed right now.  "I could take you to Jordan's…"

"Uh uh.  She had a date tonight."  Kaid shook her head.

"The Pogue?"  It wasn't the greatest solution since she'd be up later than normal, but at least she wouldn't be alone.

Kaid thought for a minute and nodded.  "Yeah, that'll be fine."

"Ok," Eddie stood, pulling her to her feet and into a tight hug.  "Kaid?  Look at me…"  when she did, he continued, "What you told me in no way affects the feelings I have for you…other than making me admire you more."  He paused.  "I love you, baby."

Kaid looked at him, her eyes wide.  It was so early, but…she couldn't deny what she was feeling…  "I love you too…I think…"

Eddie kissed her gently as he chuckled.  "That'll do."  Then walked her back out to his car, holding her close…willing some of his strength into her, not that she really needed any.

He parked out in front of the Pogue and walked her in.  Max looked up as they entered the bar and motioned them down.  Kaid climbed onto a stool and propped her chin in her hands.

Eddie shook Max's hand and just explained briefly that Kaid hadn't wanted to be alone.  Max nodded and ruffled Kaid's hair, eliciting a small smile.

Eddie rubbed her back gently.  "So I'll see you at the precinct tomorrow?"

"Yeah," she smiled.  Then impulsively she hopped off the barstool, not really caring if Max saw them or not, and threw her arms around Eddie's shoulders.  "Thanks for…everything," she whispered and kissed him quickly.  "And don't worry…I know how to keep boundaries in the workplace," she added.

"Good," Eddie brushed her lips gently.  "Have a good night, baby."

"You too," she smiled and waved as he walked out the door.  She hopped back onto her barstool and flashed a smile at Max who just shook his head.

"Everything really ok?"

"Yeah.  It is…" she paused.  "He knows, and it's fine.  And Uncle Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Yes, I'm really happy."

"Good," he smiled.  "I'm glad."  And he really was, he thought to himself as he went down to the other end of the bar.  Kaid had quickly become like a daughter to him, and he was glad that she was happy.  She and Jordan both, he thought, thinking about the look on Jordan's face an hour earlier…

Jordan and Woody… 

Dinner was good ~ they finally got those damn chimichangas they'd been dancing around for a year and a half.  Afterwards, Jordan suggested they go to the Pogue and Woody agreed.  It seemed the best option.

They walked in and waved at Max.  Woody went and found a table for them while Jordan went to the bar to get their beers.  When she got back to the table, Woody had an enigmatic smile on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"What?  I didn't say anything," he said as she put his beer on the table and sat down.

"No, but you've got a Cheshire cat grin on your face…"

"Oh.  That.  I was just trying to figure out what happened that made you call me and ask me out…"

Jordan laughed.  "I'm really not sure…  Other than my cousin…"

"Kaidlyn?  Is that want you said her name is?"

"Yeah."  Jordan paused.  She didn't want to air Kaid's stuff to just anyone, particularly someone she might end up working with ~ there were occasionally double teams assigned to particularly big cases.  "I won't go into details, but I'll just say I found out some stuff that's happened to her and the fact that she could go out with someone period ~ let alone let herself feel what I can tell she does from the look on her face whenever she talks about him ~ made all my stuff seem silly."

"Really?"

"Yeah.  Well, that plus she said something to me this afternoon when I asked her about her date…"  Jordan looked over at him.  She really shouldn't tell him anything…

"Would she happen to be going out with Winslow tonight?"  Woody's curiosity was getting the better of him.

"How did you…?" Jordan's mouth fell open.

"I guessed.  I saw him this afternoon at the precinct and he seemed almost human.  And since you were saying that she got reassigned…"

"The reassignment really did have nothing to do with that…" Jordan countered.  "But yeah, that's who she's out with.  Woody, please…"

"Don't worry.  I'm not going to say anything.  As much as we work together it would be a little hypocritical…"

"True…" Jordan mused.  "But anyway…  I asked her about her going out with him and she said, among other things, 'if I don't try it, I'll always wonder what could have happened…' And it made me think."   She reached across the table and took one of Woody's hands in between her own.  "I don't think it's any big secret that I've got feelings for you…"

"Really?" Woody teased.

"Ha ha.  Anyway…hearing Kaid say that and knowing what I know about her, it just made me think about us and how I'd feel if I didn't even give us a chance.  So…"  She looked briefly down towards the bar then turned back to Woody and leaned across the table, surprising him with a kiss on the lips.

"What the…?" Woody felt like he was about to jump out of his skin.

"Come dance with me?" Jordan said, getting up and leading him over to the jukebox where she selected a familiar song.

As the opening notes of "Devil or Angel" sounded, Woody pulled Jordan's body close to his.  As they danced, he let her hair rub against his face and slowly moved his mouth towards hers, their lips finally meeting in a deep kiss.  Jordan pressed even closer and moved her mouth to his ear.  "Come on, let's get out of here…"

"Ok," Woody gasped, not quite believing this was happening.  Well, he wasn't sure how far things were going to go, but…  He went up to grab their coats while Jordan went to say good-bye to Max.  Woody didn't miss his raised eyebrow, but Jordan reached over and hugged him, then waved as they got to the door.

"My place ok?" she asked as they got to her car.

"Huh?  Oh, yeah.  That's fine."  Woody shook his head, willing himself to stop acting like a sixth grader who has just discovered his hormones.

When they got to Jordan's place, she went to the stereo and was selecting a CD when Woody came over.  "Let me pick?"

"Sure," Jordan agreed.  She went into the kitchen and poured a couple of glasses of wine.

When she got back over to the couch, he had selected a song ~ "Good to You" by Sarah McLachlan.  It seemed an odd choice and she cocked her head to the side.  

"Just listen to the words, Jordan," Woody said.  So she did.  As it reached the second chorus, she understood and reached over, pulling Woody into a deep kiss.

He responded, kissing her back, his hands wandering over her back.  They spent the rest of the evening kissing, stroking, exploring each other's bodies.  Doing everything but…  There would be another time for consummating the relationship.  They fell asleep in each other's arms, naked but feeling no pressure to have sex…content simply to hold each other…

Max didn't know what happened with Jordan and Woody.  But they seemed happy when they left the Pogue.  As he closed up and drove home with Kaid, she seemed happier, calmer, and yet more animated than she had in a while.  He mentally promised himself to not say anything negative about Winslow anymore ~ as long as he didn't hurt Kaidlyn.  If the man could make her this happy, he deserved a chance.

When they got to the house, Kaid hugged Max and went up to get ready for bed.  He stayed downstairs for a few minutes, doing some basic straightening.  When he went up to go to bed himself, he peeked into Kaid's darkened room and saw her curled up in bed, asleep in spite of the bright moonlight streaming across her face.  A smile was on her lips and she looked much different from the girl who'd cried in his living room the night before.  Comparing Kaid's look and the look on Jordan's face when she and Woody were leaving, Max came to one conclusion…

Tonight had obviously been about beginning the process of breaking down walls…one brick at a time.

**…to be continued…**

  ****


	14. Two Months Later

Tangled Webs 

**Chapter 14**

**Two Months Later…**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine!  They're just using my head for their personal playground!

Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Kaidlyn and Lois got along extremely well.  Eddie couldn't believe how what started out as a necessity for two unrelated reasons resulted in such an amazing partnership.  Kaid progressed to handling single team scenes on her own and everyone who watched her commented on how much talent she had.  "A gift," she kept hearing.

After a few cases with Kaid running them, Lois went in to talk with Eddie.  "You still have that friend in the FBI office?"

"Yeah…" Eddie looked up at her.  "Why?"

"I was thinking that Kaid might be just what they're looking for."  She watched Eddie's face for some kind of reaction.  She knew that they were seeing each other, but she didn't bother him about it.  At work they were the consummate professionals.  Whatever they did in their free time was their business.  "You've seen her…she's got a knack for profiling a scene.  Since she's been here, my solve rate has increased dramatically."

Eddie nodded.  This could be a solution.  He knew she loved what she was doing, but he feared she'd get bored with regular police work ~ even homicides.  In most ways she'd be great for Special Victims...except her own experience.  While it made her extremely empathetic with the victims, it made her extremely vulnerable to breakdowns.  He knew she'd never be assigned to that squad.  He looked at Lois, "You know, that just might work!"

Lois' pager went off and she excused herself.  Eddie picked up the phone to call his friend and find out about the profiling program.  Thompson was intrigued with Eddie's description of Kaid's work and they set up a time for him to watch her in action and then talk with her.

Lois went to the office she was now sharing with Kaid and grabbed what she needed.  "Alright kiddo, come with me."

Kaid got up and followed her to the locker room.  "What's up?"

"We've got a double team case in South B.  We've got to get into the vests."  She pulled hers from her locker and watched Kaid put hers on.  "Good girl."

Kaid didn't want to say anything, but inside she was terrified.  She'd never done a double team case ~ and she'd never been on anything that required the vest.  She jogged along beside Lois and slid into the passenger seat when they reached the car, not saying a word.  

As she drove, Lois looked over at her protégé.  "You'll be fine.  Just work it like you do any other scene."  She paused and realized part of what might be terrifying the girl.  "Don't worry, you don't have to handle this one.  We'll take care of it.  Just do what you always do."

"Ok."

They pulled up to the scene and got out, looking around for the other detective on scene.  It didn't take them long to find Woody.  He filled them in and then assigned everyone a quadrant of the crime scene.  The ME's already had the bodies.  As it turns out, Kaid's quadrant right next to Woody's.  They were going over things with a fine toothed comb when they heard a shot and saw the brick on the building right above their head shatter as the bullet hit it.

Woody didn't even think, he jumped on top of Kaid, knocking her to the ground and covering her head and neck with his protected torso.  It wasn't a moment too soon for more shots rang out and he felt a pop and a sharp as a bullet lodged in his vest.  More gunfire and then a shout that one of the unis had gotten the guy.

Woody slowly rolled over, the pain in his side was almost unbearable.  He didn't think the bullet had penetrated the vest, but my God it hurt to breathe.  Lois came running over and helped Woody get the vest off.  The bullet hadn't penetrated, but there was already a dark bruise where it hit.

"You've probably got a cracked rib, Hoyt," she said.  "Just sit tight.  The ambulance is on the way."  She turned to Kaid who was working her way to a sitting position, visibly shaken. "Are you ok?"

Kaid nodded slowly and looked at Lois and Woody.  "Thanks Woody," she said.

"Oh my God," Lois said.  The girl's face was covered in blood.  "Are you hit?"

"I don't think so…" Kaid said, a bit perplexed.

Wincing, Woody pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to Lois who used it to wipe Kaid's face.  As she cleared some of the blood away, she saw that the cause was.  When she'd been knocked to the ground, her forehead hit first and it split the skin.  It didn't look serious, just bloody.  "I think you're ok, kiddo," Lois said.  "Here, can you hold this on your head, right there?"

Kaid nodded and pressed the handkerchief to her forehead.  When the ambulance got there, they checked out Woody first and then Kaid.  Both of them needed to go to the hospital to be checked out.  Lois said she'd meet them there as the EMT's loaded Woody onto a gurney and into the ambulance and helped Kaid climb in.

In the ER, the doctor who examined Kaidlyn said he didn't think that she had a concussion, but he wanted a scan to be sure after he stitched her up.  He tried to joke with her about making sure she wouldn't have a horrible scar, but she only looked at him and nodded wide-eyed.  The scan and x-ray came back negative and he signed her release papers.  

He walked her down the hall to the waiting room.  In spite of the news that no one was seriously hurt, several unis and detectives had gathered in the waiting room, Eddie among them.  When Kaid saw Eddie in the waiting room, she ran into his arms and collapsed in tears.

"It's alright, baby.   Shhh.  It's alright," he cooed, guiding her to a chair.  He looked around at the others briefly and then decided he didn't care who knew anymore.  Nothing was going to change at work.  He pulled her into his lap and rocked her there as she cried.  When it felt like she was calmer, he tipped her chin up to look in her eyes.  "What happened?"

"I'm really not sure.  It was so fast.  We were on the scene ~ double crew.  I was looking at one quadrant and Woody was in one not fifteen feet away.  Then the shooting started.  I just heard gunshots and Woody knocked me to the ground which is what caused this," she pointed to the small line of stitches on her right forehead area.  "But that's minor.  If he hadn't done that…"

"You had your vest on didn't you?" Eddie looked concerned.

"Yeah, but…" she looked confused.

"You'd most likely have what he has…" Eddie paused as he looked at Kaid and realized that with the size differential between her and Woody, there was a good chance that the vest might not have done Kaid much good.  "Kaidie, it's alright.  Remember what I told you about looking out for the others on the scene?  That's part of a cop's job.  And Woody was just doing that."

Lois walked around the corner having just left the exam room where Woody was.  Seeing Eddie and Kaidlyn, she walked over and sat in the chair next to them.  She reached over and rubbed Kaidlyn's back.  "You ok, baby girl?"

"Yeah…" Kaid looked at her and nodded.  "How's Woody?"

"He's got a cracked rib.  The vest did its job."  Lois spoke to her gently.  She remembered how she felt the first time she'd been at a scene and witnesses something like that.  "Jordan's with him right now, but he wants to see you.  I think you can go on in."

She pointed out the door and Kaid shyly pushed it open.  Woody was sitting up in the bed.  When he saw her, a look of relief came over his face.  "Thanks God you're alright."

Jordan came over and hugged her cousin.  "We were all telling him you would be, but he wouldn't believe us!" she said, rolling her eyes.

"How about you?  How are you doing?" Kaid asked, walking over to Woody's side.

"Carver was right," he said.  "Cracked rib.  Nothing they can do but tape it."  He noticed the small line of stitches.  "I'm so sorry about that."

"Don't be.  I'm thankful," Kaid said.  "If you hadn't covered my head…"  She didn't have to finish that sentence.  They both knew what could have happened.

"Is Winslow out there?" Woody asked gently.

"Yeah," Kaid nodded.

"Good.  You don't need to be alone after that.  Hell, I've seen things like that before and I don't want to be alone after that!" Woody stated.

Jordan took hold of his hand.  "And you don't have to be."

Kaid looked at the two of them and started towards the door.  "Ok, I'm gonna go.  Woody, thank you again.  Take care of yourself and I'll see you soon…"

"Bye Kaid," Woody said.  "And you don't have to thank me, but you're welcome," he smiled.

"Bye babe," Jordan said.  "Be sure to call Dad and let him know you're alright."

"Yeah…I should do that…"  Kaid said, giving one final wave.

She went back to the waiting room and took Eddie's outstretched hand.  "You ready to go, baby?"

"Yeah."  She turned to Lois.  "So I'll see you tomorrow?"

Lois chuckled as she pulled the girl into a hug.  "You can have a few days off.  I think you've earned it.  Take care.  I'm glad you're ok."

"Thanks."  Kaid smiled up at Eddie and they walked out of the ER towards his car.

**…to be continued…**

  ****


	15. Push

**Tangled Webs**

**Chapter 15 **

**Push**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine!  They're just using my head for their personal playground!

Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!

Song lyrics: "Push" by Sarah McLachlan

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Where do you want to get something to eat?" Eddie asked gently as they pulled out of the parking lot at the hospital.

"I'm not hungry," Kaid shrugged.

"You need to eat something, baby," he looked at her, concerned.

"Let's stop by the Pogue so I can let Uncle Max know I'm ok," she finally said.  "Maybe by then I'll decide what I want."

"Sounds like a plan."  Eddie drove over to Max's bar and walked inside with Kaidlyn.

Max ran out from behind the bar to hug his niece.  "You're alright, then?"

"Yeah, I'm ok Uncle Max," Kaid said, hugging him back.  "No concussion or anything.  Just stitches."

"Good," Max said, rubbing her back.

"I'm gonna go to the bathroom.  I'll be right back," Kaid excused herself.

Max looked at Eddie.  "She really alright?"

"Yeah," he said. "She will be.  She's shaken like any of us would be.  But I think she's gonna be fine."

Max nodded.  "It might not be good for her to be alone tonight…" he paused.

"Max, I would never take advantage of anything…" Eddie started to protest.

"I'm not saying that.  I'm just saying that if she wants to stay with you, don't feel like you have to bring her home."

"Alright, thank you, sir." Eddie shifted his weight uncomfortably.

"Eddie, I know we've had our differences, but I can honestly say that I have not ever seen her as happy as you've made her.  I'm not going to blame you for anything or keep the two of you apart.  And you can still call me Max."  Max patted Eddie on the back.  "But now if you hurt her…"

"Max, I can honestly say that I have no intention of hurting her…" He looked up as Kaid came out of the bathroom.  "You ready, baby?"

"Yeah."  She hugged Max again.  "I'll see you later."

"Sure thing, sweetheart." Max smiled at them and waved as they walked out the door.

When they got back to the car, Eddie looked at Kaid.  "Alright baby.  What do you want to eat?"

"I'm still not hungry," she said.  "But I suppose Chinese."

"Ok."  Eddie said.  He stopped by his favorite place and got an assortment of things for them to choose from.  Perhaps one of them would make Kaid hungry.

Once home, he spread a picnic out on the coffee table while Kaid selected a CD from her case that she kept in Eddie's car.  Sarah McLachlan again, but that was fine with him.  It seemed to calm her.  She walked over and sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.  He was glad to see that she ate a little.  When they'd finished, he moved up to the couch, pulling Kaid up with him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked, gently.

"Nope," Kaid said.  "I want to do this…"  She straddled his lap and began kissing him deeply.

He responded, but then pulled away.  "Kaid?  What's going on?"

"I want this, Eddie.  I want to know I'm alive," she said quietly.  "If today proved nothing else, it's that we don't know how much time we have left.  I'm sick of being scared."

"Ok…" he thought he was following her train of thought, but…

"Eddie, I love you," she said, taking his face between her hands and looking into his eyes.  "I love you more than I ever thought I could love anyone."  She leaned into him kissing him deeply and passionately.  Eddie began to stroke her back and this time she didn't flinch when his hands wandered below the waist.  He groaned as he felt her start to move against him, pressing into his body, her own hands massaging his back.

Eddie pulled back to look deep in Kaid's eyes.  He'd thought it before…he had never taken any woman and would not take Kaid without her consent.  He couldn't fully understand the demons she was fighting to even get this far with him.  But he knew he admired her courage more than he'd ever admired anyone before.

As he stopped moving and she felt his lips leave hers, Kaid opened her eyes.  "What?" she whispered, breathless with desire.

"Are you sure?" Eddie asked gently.  "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Kaid's eyes filled with tears.  "Oh, God Eddie," she gasped,   Yes, I'm sure."  She leaned in and kissed him deeply then pulled back.  "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

He nodded, but kept searching her eyes.

"Yeah, I'll admit I'm a little scared," she confessed, "but baby, I want this.  I want to make love to you…and you to me.  Please…"  As she spoke, a song started on the CD.  As Eddie heard the words of the song combined with Kaid's words, and as he saw the look in her eyes, he knew that she was being completely open and honest with him.

_Every time I look at you the world just melts away_

_All my troubles all my fears dissolve in your affections_

The rest of Kaid's sentence was lost as Eddie leaned down and kissed her deeper than he thought possible.  As his fingers grazed the side of her body, she moaned into his mouth, which only heightened all the senses they were feeling.  He pulled back for a moment to stand, picking her up as her legs wrapped around his waist and gently carried her into the bedroom kissing her all the way down the hall.

_You've seen me at my weakest but you take me as I am_

_And when I fall you offer me a softer place to land_

He tenderly laid her on the bed and they resumed their kissing.  She pulled at his shirt, and soon he was wriggling out of it.  Ditto for the undershirt and the pants, and he soon found himself in only his briefs.  

Part of him was dying to rip her clothes off and take her right there, but he made himself go slowly.  She was going to be in control of the evening.  And if she decided at the last minute to stop, so be it.  No meant no.  At each step, he'd pull back to look at her, to get her confirmation that she wanted this to continue.

He untucked her shirt from her jeans and slowly unbuttoned it, running his fingers all over her abdomen, chest and sides.  When the last button was undone, she wriggled out of the shirt leaving only a baby pink lace bra on the upper half of her body.  Eddie kissed her shoulders, her chest, and her abdomen, continuing to graze her ever so lightly with his fingers.

When she could almost stand things no more, she pressed against him with her hips and looked up at him, her eyes begging him to take her jeans off.  He hesitated for just a minute, and she took his hand and placed it on the button, nodding her assent.  He unfastened the pants and gently slid them down until they joined the pile of clothing in the middle of the floor.  He gasped as he saw that she was wearing a thong that matched her bra, then kissed his way up to her lips.

By this point Kaid's hands were exploring Eddie's body as well with a new intensity.  He felt his nipples harden under her gentle touch and knew those weren't the only thing growing harder by the minute.  He stopped his exploration of her body to allow her time to do her own of him.  God, she had the gentlest touch he'd ever felt.  He shuddered as her fingers passed over his shoulders and back.

_You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together_

_You're the one true thing I know that I believe in_

They were on their sides, and he watched her eyes carefully as he felt her hands go lower and lower on his body.  When she finally pulled off the briefs and reached his hardened shaft, he fought to keep his eyes open and was rewarded by a look of wonder and pure love in hers.  He leaned in to kiss her and neither of them closed their eyes.  As she ran her fingers up and down and gently grasped it, it was his turn to moan into her mouth, sending shivers up each of their spines.  At the sensation, Kaid pressed even harder into his body ~ surprised, but not frightened by the intensity of her own reaction.

_You're all the things that I desire you save me you complete me_

_You're the one true thing I know I can believe_

She started to wriggle out of her bra and thong, but Eddie kissed her and slowly found the clasp in the back of the bra and undid it, slowly pulling the lace away from her skin.  As he sat up to toss the bra onto the clothes, he looked at her for a moment, not believing this was happening.  She was absolutely beautiful.  She looked at him and whispered, "Rub my back?" then flipped over onto her stomach, revealing a small tribal tattoo on the small of her back.

He straddled her legs, then leaned down and kissed at it.  "What's this?"

"Hmm?  Oh, I got that on my last birthday," she whispered.

"It's beautiful," he said, kissing it again.  "Just like you."  He let his hands wander over her back, hoping that his fingertips were as light as hers had been.  She relaxed under his touch and small moans came from her mouth.  After a few minutes, when Eddie had about decided she'd fallen asleep, she rolled over, their hips practically joined.

_I get mad so easy but you give me room to breathe_

_No matter what I say of do cause you're too good to fight about it_

"Kiss me?" she said, almost shyly.

In answer he stretched out and lay completely on top of her, kissing her deeply.  His hands wandered to the small scrap of material that separated them.  As he grasped the waistband, he pulled back to look at her.  She nodded, and he gently but quickly removed the underwear.

She could feel him against her belly and began to move her hips the way she figured she was supposed to.  Eddie moaned as he kissed her and she pressed a little harder into him.  When he thought he wasn't going to be able to stand it anymore, he pulled his face back and looked deeply into her eyes ~ more deeply than he had all evening ~ his eyes asking the question he was afraid to form with his mouth.

_Even when I have to push just to see how far you'll go_

_You won't stood down to battle but you never turn to go_

Kaid read his look perfectly and nodded slowly.  "I'm sure.  I'm sure, baby."  She reached up and brought his face to hers.  "Eddie, I want you to make love to me.  Please…"  Another deep kiss as he rolled them over so he could reach into his nightstand to get the small piece of latex.

Kaid looked at him, her eyes full of love and wonder as he opened it.  "You want to do it?"  She shook her head, so he rolled it on and then gently rolled her to her back, looking to her for one more confirmation.  At her nod, he pulled her into a deep kiss and ever so gently positioned himself.

"Slowly, slowly," he kept repeating to himself silently.  The last thing he wanted to do was hurt or scare her.  Ever so gently as their kiss deepened, he pushed inside her and felt her hips rise to meet his.  He felt some slight resistance, even though he knew that she technically was not a virgin, he also knew that in essence this was her first time.  He pulled away from their kiss and looked at her, finding her eyes closed.  "Kaidie?  Look at me…" he asked gently, still slightly inside her.  When she opened her eyes, he whispered, "You still ok?"

As she nodded, he held her back tightly and pushed himself all the way into her.  At this new sensation, Kaid's eyes got wide and she gasped.  "You ok?"  He was going to keep checking on her, determined to do what he could to get those demons away.  She nodded and he began to move rhythmically, alternatively kissing her and pulling back to watch her eyes, her face.

_You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together_

_You're the one true thing I know I can believe in_

Slowly she began to move her body in rhythm with his as their kisses deepened.  As he came closer to the edge, he kept her in a steady, deep, probing kiss, feeling her respond as his thrusts increased.  Moments before his climax, he felt her arch towards him and the rhythmic contraction of her muscles sent him over the edge.  Their lips still on each other's they moaned simultaneously, sending another wave of shivers down their spines.

_You're all the things that I desire you save me you complete me_

_You're the one true thing I know I can believe_

When it was over, Eddie carefully slipped out of her and removed the condom while pulling her into a tight embrace.  She looked up at him.   "I know it's gonna sound cliché," she whispered, "but you're trembling."

He laughed gently as he nodded and kissed her.  "So are you," he said when they broke apart.  He held her for what seemed like only a minute ~ quite different than with other lovers he'd had in the past where even a minute seemed like torture ~ when she looked up at him.

_There are times I can't decide when I can't tell right from wrong_

_You make me feel less crazy when otherwise I'd drown_

_But you pick me up and brush me off and tell me I'm ok_

_Sometimes that's just what we need to get us through the day_

"Eddie?"

"Yeah, baby?"

"I love you so much."

"I love you too, Kaid.  God, baby, I love you too."

She breathed deeply and then whispered softly, "Thank you…"

He didn't have to ask what for, just whispered "You're welcome," and pulled her into another kiss.

They lay, locked like that until he heard her breathing reach the slow, steady breath pattern of sleep.  He looked at her and gently kissed her forehead, whispering "Good night, baby.  I love you."  He continued watching her, scarcely believing what she'd given him, and found he simply couldn't let her go.  So he held her cradling her securely but tenderly and soon followed her in sleep, holding her in his arms.

_You stay the course you hold the line you keep it all together_

_You're the one true thing I know I can believe in_

_You're all the things that I desire you save me you complete me_

_You're the one true thing I know I can believe_

**…to be continued…**


	16. The Morning After

Tangled Webs 

**Chapter 16**

**The Morning After**

**Rating: R**

The Crossing Jordan characters aren't mine!  They're just using my head for their personal playground!

Kaidlyn and her mother, Laura, are my own creations and therefore they're mine!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_Woody and Jordan_

Jordan insisted on driving Woody home after he was released.  He didn't need to be alone after everything that had happened, and while she knew there was more room in her loft, she also sensed that he'd be more comfortable at his place.  As they pulled up, he looked out the window.

"My place?"

"Yeah.  I figured you'd be more comfortable there," she looked at him.

"Well, maybe, but you won't…" he stopped, realizing what he'd just assumed.  "I mean…"

She laughed and ruffled his hair.  "It's ok.  I figured you didn't need to be alone after everything that happened…but…"

"I'm glad you're here."  He smiled and went to get out of the car, wincing.

"Hey, take it easy cowboy.  You'll get there."  Jordan helped him out of the car and into the building.

"Now I now what you mean when you said that in the Montgomery case about a broken rib hurting.  I don't see how she…"

"She wasn't feeling anything except the ecstasy coursing through her bloodstream is how.  And no you're not getting any of that," she looked at him and rolled her eyes.  "It's Advil for you…"

"Ok," he said as he unlocked the door to his studio.  "Sorry it's such a mess…"

Jordan looked around.  It wasn't THAT messy, but he clearly wasn't a neat freak either.  "Alright, why don't you go get in bed and I'll fix something to eat.  What do you want?"

Woody thought for a second.  "I think there's a couple of frozen pizzas in the fridge.  That'll do…"

"Fine," Jordan shooed him out of the kitchen area.  She found the pizzas, which thankfully were microwavable, and nuked them.  She put a little tray together with plates of pizza and glasses of soda then carried it into the other room.  

Woody was sitting on his bed.  "Looks good," he said as he grabbed a slice and downed it in no time flat.  "Funny how being hurt makes you hungry."

Jordan just looked at him.

"What?" he asked as he swallowed another slice of pizza.

"You could have been killed this afternoon."

"But I wasn't.  It was a regular bullet that doesn't stand a chance against a Kevlar vest," he said, reaching out to take her hand.  "Jordan, I know it's scary.  Hell, I was scared to death when I felt it hit.  But I also know it's a risk of the job.  And that I was doing my job."

"Yeah, I know…" she leaned over and kissed him.  "By the way, I haven't thanked you yet."

"For what?"  Woody looked confused.

"From all reports you saves Kaidlyn's life this afternoon," Jordan said quietly.

"By knocking her to the ground?"

"More than that.  By covering her head and neck.  Woody, those are parts that are unprotected by a vest.  Lois told me what happened and showed me the pictures.  The guy taking crime scene pictures whirled and snapped some before either of you moved," Jordan paused and shuddered.  "Woody, where you and the shot were in relation to Kaid…at the very least she'd have a bullet lodged against the base of her brain stem."  She wiped at her eyes as she finished.

"You mean…"  The reality of what happened was really sinking in.

"You saved her life, Wood.  You're a hero," Jordan smiled and kissed him again.

"Hey, hey…not that I'm gonna fuss about all this affection, but…" he cocked an eyebrow at Jordan.

"Have some of the nights we've spent together proven nothing to you?  Woody, for some crazy reason I'm falling for you," Jordan shook her head and laughed.  "I admit, saving my cousin's life doesn't hurt you any…but it's not pushing me anywhere I wouldn't go anyway."

Woody laughed and pushed the trays aside, scooting forward on the bed to pull Jordan into his arms.  As he did, he winced and Jordan couldn't help but laugh.

"What?" he asked, pouting.

"Woody…there will be time for that later.  Once you're no longer bandaged like a mummy," she smiled gently.

"Is that a promise?"

Jordan took a deep breath, not quite believing what she was about to say.  "Yeah, it's a promise."

"Good," Woody said as he decided to settle back on the pillows.  Jordan started to get up, and he reached out to touch her arm.  "Jordan?"

"Yeah, Wood?"

"Will you stay here tonight?  I mean…" he looked around sheepishly.  "There's a chair over there…it's really comfy.  And…"

She bent down and ruffled his hair before kissing him.  "Of course I'll stay.  I don't really want to be alone either."

"Good," he smiled.  "If you want to put on something else, I've got some extra sweatpants in the drawer over there…some t-shirts too."

"Ok.  Get some sleep.  I'll be right here."  Jordan walked over and picked out some sweats and a shirt.  She went into the bathroom to change.  While she was in there she found a blanket to use in the chair.  She walked out to see that he was already asleep and then curled in the chair to try and sleep herself.  She didn't expect to, but the next thing she knew, her phone was ringing and it was close to noon.

She scrambled out of the chair and found her phone in her bag.  "Cavanaugh."

"Jordan, it's Dad."

"Hey!  How are you?"

"I'm good.  I wanted to see how you were doing.  And Woodrow…I heard about what happened."

"He's ok.  Cracked rib.  You've talked to Kaidie, right?"

"Yeah, she and Eddie came by the Pogue last night."  He heard Jordan suck in her breath.  "I know…but I watched him with her last night.  Jordan, he really cares about her."

"I know he does, Dad.  I saw him with her at the hospital.  I keep saying I'm gonna let bygones be bygones…maybe it's time to really do that."

"Good.  Then you and Woody will come over for dinner?  I thought I'd fix a nice dinner to celebrate everyone being alright…"

"Um, sure.  Dad?  Are you sure that's the only reason?"

"I need a reason to have a dinner party?"

"No, but…"

"I want to have my daughter and niece and the men in their lives over for dinner."

"Ok, ok.  Woody's still sleeping but I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Good.  Then I'll see you about 6:30?"

"Sure, Dad.  We'll see you then."  Jordan shook her head as she hung up.  It was going to be an interesting night…

Kaidlyn and Eddie 

Kaidlyn woke up as the beginning streaks of an autumn sunrise were making their way into Eddie's room.  At first, she wasn't sure where she was ~ that disorienting feeling of just coming out of a deep sleep and not quite being ready to really open your eyes ~ but as she started to stretch and her arm brushed against something warm, she remembered where she was and what had happened.  And smiled.  

Ok, maybe it hadn't been quite the way she would have pictured it, but she was almost positive that she had not just reacted to what had happened the previous day.  Everything felt so right, and she found that she had no regrets about what she and Eddie had done.  How could she possibly regret something as wonderful and tender as their lovemaking had been?

She thought about lying there in bed and curling up with him, but decided that she wanted to watch him sleep for a little while.  She quietly slid out of bed and pulled on a Red Sox t-shirt she found on the back of the closet door.  She curled up in the chair he had in one corner of the room after finding a blanket in the closet.  As she drew her knees to her chest and let her arms rest around them with her chin resting on her knees, she thought about how lucky she really was.  How many guys made stuff all about them and, even if they didn't go to the point of rape, really cared about what their lover was feeling.  Even though he hadn't said it, Kaid knew from the way Eddie had treated her last night that even if they'd been right at the point of him entering her and she'd decided she wasn't ready it would have been ok.  

She smiled to herself as she watched him turn over in bed, putting his arms up over his head and around his pillow.  He really was great ~ she didn't care what Max or Jordan thought.  They weren't her.  Eddie tossed again, and she realized that he was probably having some kind of nightmare, but she stayed frozen to the chair, not quite knowing what to do.

In his dream, Eddie was at his desk as he heard the call come in down the hall…  It started off just as the events really had…

"Officer down!  Officer down!  We need immediate assistance" 

_It was like he was frozen in place as he heard the location being read off.  South B.  The double team case...  Oh God…_

_He ran down the hall to the desk sergeant, asking him for information.  He relayed what the call had said.  Two injured.  They didn't think seriously, but an ambulance was on its way.  The perp was dead._

_"Which hospital?"___

_"BUMC I believe."_

_"Alright."__  Eddie turned to leave and then turned around as more information came in.  "Who'd they say?"_

_"Hoyt…and the intern girl you assigned to Lois."_

_"Thank you sir.__  Radio Carver and tell her I'll meet them at the ER."  And he was off._

The drive to the hospital was a blur.  He kept trying not to think the worst, but…  Even though he hadn't been on that particular scene, he'd been on double team scenes before.  Two down.  What the hell had gone wrong?  He knew two people were injured, but his brain went to worst-case scenario…

Kaidlyn shot in the head…Kaidlyn shot in the chest with a "cop killer" bullet…Kaidlyn with a bullet lodged somewhere against her spine, comatose or worse…

The images changed…

Kaid hadn't survived.  Her injuries had been too bad.  He saw her lying on a gurney in the morgue, so still, so cold…  And still covered in her own blood.  He walked into the crypt and began to stroke her hair, not believing what had happened and hoping to God that Garret had sense enough to get her autopsy done before Jordan got there.  Kaid's eyes flew open and he jumped.

"You did this to me…" she accused him.

"What?  What do you mean?"

"You assigned me to Carver.  I would never have been out there if I hadn't been assigned to her…"

"But I didn't have any other choice.  I didn't feel like Woody…"

"Yeah, he gets to live.  Ironic isn't it?"

"Oh, God, baby.  I never meant for this to…"

"A lot of good that does me now, huh?"

"Kadie…oh shit…"

"Eddie, I'm gonna have to take her now," Garret came in and put his hand on Eddie's shoulder.  "Jordan will be here soon and I don't want her to even think about doing this."

"But she's not dead…" Eddie shook his head and looked down at her body, once again lifeless and inert.  "She was just talking to me…"

"Lily's in her office.  Why don't you go and talk with her?" Garret said gently as he began to push the gurney into autopsy.  

But autopsy wasn't autopsy.  It was a giant oven and…

"No!  You can't put her in…" Eddie choked back a sob as the front wheels of the gurney fell off into a pit.  "No!  No!  It's all my fault!  NO!"

Kaid jumped up from the chair as Eddie began talking.  She couldn't make out what he was saying but it didn't sound good.  She jumped onto the bed, trying to figure out what to do.  At the last "NO!" Eddie sat straight up in bed, sweating bullets.  Kaid reacted on pure instinct and threw her arms around him.

"Shh.  Eddie, it's alright.  Shhh."  She pulled his shaking body into her arms and rocked him there as one would a small child.  "It's alright.  I'm here.  I'm fine…"

As his sobs began to subside, Eddie looked up at Kaidlyn.  "You're really alright?"

"Yeah.  I'm fine."  She smiled at him as he pushed himself to a sitting position and wrapped her in a warm, tight embrace.  "I'm fine…"

"I…the dream…" He tried to keep his voice from quavering, but he knew it wasn't working.

"Just a dream," she said gently.  "I'm fine.  Eddie?  Look at me.  I'm fine."

He felt relief flood his body as he looked in her eyes.  She really was there in front of him.  And other than the tiny line of stitches, she showed no signs of the trauma from the day before.  He leaned down and kissed her.  "I love you, Kaidlyn."

"I love you too, Eddie," she said gently.  "And it's not your fault…what happened, I mean.  I'm in training to be a cop.  Things happen…"

"Yeah, but…" he stopped and looked at her.  "You're right.  I know you're right…  Hey, you hungry now?"  Hell, he was a guy after all…that much emotion could be scary.

"Yeah…" she laughed.  "I guess I am."

He got up and pulled on some sweatpants then went into the kitchen.  He looked around and turned back to Kaid.  "Not a lot here…you want to go out?"

"Got peanut butter and bagels?"

"Yeah, but…" he looked at her quizzically.

"Then I'm good to go," she laughed.

"If you're sure…" he watched her slice a bagel and put it in the toaster.  Shaking his head, he went and got a bowl that he filled with Honey Nut Cheerios.  As he got to the refrigerator, Kaid slid up behind him and put her arms around his waist.  As he turned and looked at her, she smiled.

"I didn't say thank you yet."

"Thank you for what?"

"Last night…"

"Yes you did, baby.  Right before you went to sleep."

"Oh…yeah," she giggled.  "Well, I want to say it again.  Eddie, what you did last night…the way you let me be in charge of whatever happened…  Thank you.  I…I never thought it could ever be like that after…  But you showed me that it can."  She reached up and kissed him deeply.

"Oh baby…" he pulled her close.  "I'm glad I could…" He looked up and shook his head.  "To be honest I was a little afraid you'd want to take it back in the light of morning…"

"Oh God, no.  Eddie, I know I said that about wanting to feel alive and all.  But I would never trade what we did for anything.  I'm glad we made love," she smiled impishly.  "I'm glad it was you.  And I don't want it ever to be anyone else."

He laughed as he picked her up and set her on the counter, leaning in to kiss her deeply.  "Well, if you're up for it…" He was interrupted by the sound of the theme from "Beauty and the Beast" playing.

"Oh shit.  My phone."  Kaid slid off the counter and reached into her bag.  As she looked at the number displayed, her face grew pale.  "It's Uncle Max.  Was I supposed to call him…?"

"I don't think so," Eddie said.  Max had seemed cool with stuff last night…

"Hello?" Kaid answered.

"Hey sweetheart.  It's Max."

"Yeah…hey."

"How are you this morning?"

"I'm ok.  My head hurts a little, but I'm ok."

"Do you and Eddie have plans for tonight?"

"Um, I don't…hang on…" she put her hand over the mouthpiece and looked at Eddie.  "Do you have plans tonight?"

"Hanging out with you.  I've got the day off."

"Cool."  She spoke into the phone again, "Not really.  Why?"

"I'm fixing dinner for you and Eddie and Woody and Jordan."

"What?"

"I just want to have a chance for all of us to eat together.  Does there have to be a special reason?"

"No, I just…" she looked at Eddie and scrunched up her nose.  "What time?"

"Around 6:30?"

"Sounds good.  We'll see you then.  At the house?"

"Yeah.  Have a good day, sweetie."

"Ok, you too.  Thanks Uncle Max."  She clicked off and looked at Eddie.  "We're all having a dinner party at Uncle Max's tonight."

"Ok…" Eddie looked at her and laughed.  He reached over and started to tickle her.  "Well, we've got some time before then…" he said, picking her up as she squealed.  "If you're interested…"

"Oh yeah," she whispered as he laid her on the bed and they started kissing.  "Definitely."

**…to be continued…**

  ****


End file.
